Sportsman and sportswoman
ca. 1780
Medium
Lead-glazed earthenware
Dimensions
Height (each): 7 5/8 in. (19.4 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
British, Burslem, Staffordshire
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, 1943
Accession Number
43.100.15, .16
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 18th century, British potters like Ralph Wood the Younger of Burslem, Staffordshire, captured the spirit of Georgian leisure through whimsical ceramic figures. This charming pair, *Sportsman and Sportswoman* (ca. 1780), stands at just 7 5/8 inches tall each, crafted in lead-glazed earthenware—a durable, affordable medium that allowed vibrant colors and glossy finishes to bring everyday scenes to life. These petite sculptures likely depict a gentleman hunter and his female companion, dressed in period attire with sporting accessories, reflecting the era's growing fascination with ou...
About the Artist
Ralph Wood the Younger · 1748–1795
Ralph Wood the Younger was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, in 1748, the son of the celebrated potter Ralph Wood the Elder and a member of a family that stood at the center of the Staffordshire ceramics industry during its most creative and internationally influential period. Growing up in the workshops of his father, he absorbed from childhood the technical traditions of English earthenware produc...