Vase (one of a set of three)
ca. 1761
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Height: 12 9/16 in. (31.9 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, 1971
Accession Number
1971.75.25a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant vase, one of a set of three produced by the renowned Chelsea Porcelain Manuf around 1761, exemplifies the pinnacle of mid-18th-century British ceramic artistry. Standing at 12 9/16 inches tall, it is crafted from soft-paste porcelain—a innovation blending clay with ground glass and fired at lower temperatures than true Chinese hard-paste. Chelsea, London's pioneering porcelain factory founded in the 1740s, mastered this medium to rival imported luxuries, often adorning pieces with vibrant enamels, gilding, and intricate modeling. The vase's surface bursts with playful motifs of b...
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...