The Harlequin Family
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Height: 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
German, Meissen
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.98
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the enchanting world of18th-century German porcelain with *The Harlequin Family*, a delightfuline group crafted around 1740 by Johann Joachimändler for the renowned Meissen Manufactory.ändler, Meissen's principal modeler, specialized in lively sculptural ensembles inspired by commedia dell'arte theater, where Harlequin—a mischievous, acrobatic clown—took center stage. This piece captures a playful family of clowns in dynamic poses, blending humor and domestic tenderness to delight aristocratic collectors of the Rococo era. Fashioned from hard-paste porcelain—a groundbreaking Europea...