Figure, Monkey Band

Dateca. 1756

Artist/Maker Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (1745-1769)

MediumSoft-paste porcelain

DimensionsH: 5 7/8in. (14.9cm); W: 5 1/2in. (14cm); D: 2 3/4in. (7cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1952-617

DescriptionMolded, soft-paste porcelain figure of two monkeys. The first monkey is on all fours and is supporting an organ with two straddling legs on his back. There is a gilt pipe going from his mouth to the back of the organ. The second monkey is astride the first monkey and is playing the organ. The second monkey is wearing a wig with three queues; a white jacket with gilt buttons; a purple waistcoat with gilt buttons; and yellow breeches with purples flowers at the knees. The head, hands, and legs of the second monkey and the entire body of the first monkey are painted with short brown lines to simulate hair. The organ has black keys with white sharps. There is a stand on top to support an open music book. There are four lines of music on the pages and the piece is titled "Minuet." A stump under the first monkey's stomach supports the group. The stump projects from a Rococo style base with scrolls highlighted with gilding and applied leaves and flowers.

Label TextThe nine figures of musicians and singers that belong to the Chelsea monkey band all have Meissen prototypes. In this instance, a costumed monkey plays a pipe organ while riding astride another monkey. The print source for this group appears in the same French engravings that include the inspiration for the pipe-and-tabor monkey (accession 1952-623). These are the only two derived from that source. The Meissen example lacks the pipes and a third monkey working the bellows. The pipe connecting the organ with the monkey's mouth appears in the Meissen original and another Chelsea copy, and was originally part of this example.

The monkey band figures poke fun at French aristocracy in a similar fashion to the macaroni prints of the 18th century. The origins date back to France in the early 18th century and come from singeries – monkeys imitating humans – that were painted by Claude III Audran in interiors for Louis XIV at the Chateau de Marly in 1709. This trend persisted and there are numerous depictions of monkeys in French drawings and prints that were making fun of French aristocratic society. In the 1750s the German Meissen porcelain manufactory created the first set of porcelain figures of the Monkey Band. It was again a satirical representation of French aristocrats. Madame de Pompadour ordered a set of the figures from the Meissen manufactory in 1753 for display at the Palace of Versailles because she loved the whimsical depictions. As English porcelain so often did, the Chelsea porcelain manufactory copied the German figures. The Chelsea monkey band in Colonial Williamsburg's collection is a rare survival and one of the only complete sets in a public collection.
InscribedNo
MarkingsAnchor painted red on base between fore paws of monkey.
ProvenanceEx Coll: Humphrey W. Cook, Richmond, Surrey, and London (Sold: Christie, Manson, & Wood, LTD, CATALOGUE OF OLD ENGLISH FURNITURE AND PORCELAIN (May 16, 1945) lot 21) ; Sir Edward and Lady Baron, London,(purchasing agent for them: Frank Partridge & Son, Ltd., London)
Purchased from: Frank Partridge & Sons, Ltd.

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