Diogenes looking for an honest man
ca. 1770–80
Medium
Lead-glazed earthenware
Dimensions
Height: 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
British, Burslem, Staffordshire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, 1938
Accession Number
38.15
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming figure of Diogenes, created around 1770–80 by Ralph Wood the Younger in Burslem, Staffordshire, captures the ancient Greek philosopher’s famous search for an honest man. Standing about twelve inches tall, the lead-glazed earthenware sculpture shows Diogenes holding his lantern aloft, a simple yet expressive pose that brings a classical anecdote to life in three dimensions. Staffordshire potters like the Wood family specialized in such affordable yet finely modeled figures, using colored lead glazes to add warmth and detail to everyday household ornaments. Produced during the Enl...
About the Artist
Ralph Wood the Younger · 1748–1795
Ralph Wood the Younger was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, in 1748, the son of the celebrated potter Ralph Wood the Elder and a member of a family that stood at the center of the Staffordshire ceramics industry during its most creative and internationally influential period. Growing up in the workshops of his father, he absorbed from childhood the technical traditions of English earthenware produc...