Chinese figure with bird
ca. 1750–55
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Overall: 3 5/8 × 1 3/8 in. (9.2 × 3.5 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
British, London
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.563a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate soft-paste figure, titled *Chinese with Bird*, was crafted at the Saint James's Factory London around 175055. Standing just ⅝ inches tall, it the exquisite miniature sculptures produced this short-lived British porcelainactory during the mid-18th century. factory specialized in whimsical chinoiserie—European interpretations of Chinese aesthetics—capturing exotic figures in vibrant glazes and intricate details, for adorning wealthy households' mantel or cabinets. Soft-p porcelain, a British innovation blending clay with ground glass and fired at lower, allowed for the translucent...
About the Artist
Saint James's Factory · 1749–1759
**Saint James's Factory: A Jewel in Early English Porcelain** The Saint James's Factory, a pioneering British porcelain manufactory, emerged in London around 1749 under the direction of Charles Gouyn, a Huguenot jeweler from Dieppe who died in 1785. Operating from premises near the Turk's Head on Bennett Street in St. James's until about 1759, Gouyn had previously collaborated with Nicholas Sprim...