Friar with basket and sack
ca. 1755
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Overall: 3 3/4 × 2 1/4 in. (9.5 × 5.7 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
64.101.593a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delightful soft-paste porcelain figure, *Friar with Basket and Sack*, crafted by the Chelsea Porcelainufactory around 175, captures the whimsical spirit of mid-18th-century British. Standing just under 4 inches tall, the friar—likely depicted with a cross symbolizing his religious devotion—carries a basket and sack, evoking everyday monastic life. Chelsea, one of England's earliest porcelain factories (active 1743–1769), specialized in these small-scale figural sculptures, perfect for adorning fashionable homes. The use of soft-paste porcelain, a British innovation blending clay with gro...
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...