Seated musician (one of a pair)
ca. 1765
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
8 7/8 × 5 in. (22.5 × 12.7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
British, Bow, London
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.702
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming *Seated Musician ( of a pair)*, by the Bow Porcelain in London around 1765, exemplifies early British porcelain artistry. Established in the 1740s, Bow was among England's pioneering factories, crafting soft-paste porcelain—a translucent, bone-china-like material fired at lower temperatures than true hard-p from China. This innovation allowed for, mass-produced luxury goods, hand-modeled and vividly enameled to mimic costlier imports, making elegant decor accessible to the growing middle class during the Georgian era. Depicting a poised female musician—likely with a lute, flute,...
About the Artist
Bow Porcelain Factory · 1747–1776
The Bow Porcelain Factory, established around 1747 in East London near Bow and relocated by 1749 to "New Canton" east of the River Lea, emerged as one of England's pioneering soft-paste porcelain manufacturers, rivaling the Chelsea factory. Founded by merchant Edward Heylyn and Irish painter Thomas Frye, who secured key patents in 1744 and 1748–49 for using Cherokee kaolin and bone ash, the factor...