Shepherd
ca. 1765
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Overall: 11 3/4 × 5 in. (29.8 × 12.7 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
64.101.517
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created around 1765 by the Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory, this soft-paste porcelain figure captures the refined tastes of Georgian Britain. Standing just under a foot tall, the sculpture belongs to a tradition of decorative figures produced at Chelsea, one of England’s earliest and most prestigious porcelain factories. Its delicate modeling and subtle coloring reflect the technical challenges of working with soft-paste porcelain, a material prized for its creamy texture yet difficult to fire without distortion. Pastoral subjects like shepherds and shepherdesses were immensely popular in mid-e...
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...