Plate
ca. 1740–45
Medium
Tin-glazed soft-paste porcelain decorated in polychrome enamels
Dimensions
Overall (confirmed): 1 1/8 × 8 1/4 in. (2.9 × 21 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
French, Villeroy
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1954
Accession Number
54.147.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant plate from the Viller manufactory in Sceaux, France, dates around 1740–45, a golden era for European porcelain during the Rococo period. Crafted from tin-glazed soft-paste porcelain—a delicate, creamy material that French makers refined as an alternative to rare Chinese hard-paste—the plate is vividly decorated in polychrome enam. These overglaze colors, fired at lower temperatures, allowed for the lush blues, greens, and golds that capture the playful exuberance of 18th-century decorative arts. The central scene bursts with exotic motifs: figures of men amid tigers, flowers, and...