Gardener
1760/70
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels
Dimensions
16.7 × 6.9 × 6.4 cm (6 9/16 × 2 11/16 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
porcelain
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
135695
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 18th British porcelain with *Gardener*, a delightful figurine produced by the Worcester Porcelain around 1760–70. Standing just 16.7 cm tall, this petite sculpture captures the era's with pastoral scenes and everyday laborers, rendered as a charming tabletop ornament. Worcester, founded 1751, quickly rose as a rival to German and French makers like Meissen, exporting colorful figures that graced the rooms of England's emerging middle and upper classes. Crafted from soft-paste porcelain—a British blend of clay, ground glass, and soapstone that allowed for intrica...
About the Artist
Worcester Porcelain Factory · 1751–1783
**Worcester Porcelain Factory (1751–1783)** The Worcester Porcelain Factory, often called the Dr. Wall Period, was established in 1751 in Worcester, England, by physician Dr. John Wall and apothecary William Davis, who rallied 13 local businessmen to invest £4,500. Site at Warmstry House on the River Severn, the "Worcester Tonquin Manufactory" produced soft-paste porcelain using a steatite (soapr...