Vase (one of a pair)
ca. 1761
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
6 3/4 × 4 3/4 in. (17.1 × 12.1 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
British, Chelsea
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.506a
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate vase, one of a pair produced the renowned Chelsea Porcelain Manuf around 1761, exemplifies the age of British ceramics. Crafted from soft-paste porcelain—a pioneering English formula blending clay, glass frit, and soapstone for a creamy translucency and fine detail—the piece stands just 6¾ inches tall. Chelsea, active in London from the 1740s to 1769, was among Britain's earliest successful porcelain factories, rivaling continental giants like Meissen and Sèvres during the Rococo era's opulent "porcelain mania." The vase's decoration, featuring playful motifs of boys and girls, ...
About the Artist
Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory · 1744–1784
**Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory** The Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory, Britain's pioneering porcelain enterprise, was founded around 1743 in Chelsea, London, by two Huguenot silversmiths: Nicholas Sprimont from Liège and Charles Gouyn. Sprimont, trained in Paris as a goldsmith before immigrating to England, brought his expertise in luxury metalwork to the venture, while Gouyn handled early sales th...