Bagpiper
ca. 1745
Medium
Lead-glazed earthenware
Dimensions
Height: 5 1/8 in. (13 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
British, Staffordshire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Russell S. Carter, 1945
Accession Number
45.12.15
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the lively world of 18th Staffordshire pottery with *Bagpiper*, a charming lead-glazed earthenware crafted around 1745 by the Astbury-Whieldon. Standing just 5 1/8 inches tall, this petite sculpture captures a musician in mid-performance, bagpipes at the ready. Produced in the heart of Britain's pottery hub, Staffordshire, it exemplifies the era's innovative use of lead glazes over colorful slip decoration, which created vibrant, glossy finishes on affordable earthenware—making fine art accessible to middle-class homes. Astbury-Whieldon, a collaboration between potters from prominen...