The Coiffure
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Overall (confirmed): 4 7/8 × 3 7/8 × 2 3/4 in. (12.4 × 9.8 × 7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
German, Ludwigsburg
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.326
Tags
Art Historical Context
*The Coiffure*, crafted around 1770 by modeler Gottlieb Friedrich Riedel the Ludwigsburgcelain Manufactory in, captures a whimsical domestic scene in hard-paste porcelain. This petite figurine group, measuring just under 5 inches tall, depicts figures engaged in hairdressing—complete with ladders, mirrors, men, women, and playful dogs—evoking the elaborate hairstyles and bustling routines of 18th-century European life. The title, French for "the hairdo," hints at the Rococo era's fascination with fashion, vanity, and lighthearted genre scenes. Ludwigsburg, a Württemberg rival to renowned porc...