Peacock
ca. 1755
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain; diamond
Dimensions
3 1/2 × 1 5/8 in. (8.9 × 4.1 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
64.101.543a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Peacock, Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (ca 1755)** This enchanting "Peacock" from the Porcelain Manufactory the whimsy of mid-18th-century British. Standing just 3½ × 1⅝ inches, this soft-paste porcelain gem—shaped in a distinctive diamond form—features delicate motifs of peacocks, flowers, and leaves likely rendered in vibrant enamels. Produced during Chelsea's "raised anchor" period (ca. 1745–1752, extending into the 1750s), it reflects the factory's ambition to rival prestigious European porcelain like Meissen and Sèvres. Soft-paste porcelain, blending white clay with ground glass and f...
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...