Tureen, one of a pair
Date1753-1758
Artist/Maker
Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory
(1745-1769)
OriginEngland, London
MediumSoft-paste porcelain
DimensionsH: 3 1/2"; L: 5 9/16"; W:4"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1960-315,2A&B
DescriptionTureen and cover naturalistically modeled in the form of a partridge with its head turned to the left; the top half of the bird forms the cover. The bird is decorated in overglaze enamel colors, the feathers painted in manganese, the head and throat red, and the bill black and white. Around the middle of the base are applied sprigs in green and manganese representing the nest and loose feathers.Red anchor period.
Label TextMore than a hundred of these miniature tureens in the shape of nesting partridges were sold in the 1755 Chelsea sale, always in pairs. They were sometimes described as being "for desart."
Made in large quantities and yet painted individually, each base had to receive its proper cover. Accordingly, when the decorator was adding the red anchor mark, he placed a numeral on the interior of the bowl and a corresponding number on the side of its cover. Thus the two pieces could be easily reassembled after they had been separated for the last firing.
Inscribed"No 67" painted in red on interior of tureen. Anchor and "No67" painted in red on interior of cover.
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceCharles Woollett & Son, London
Exhibition(s)
1753-1758
1753-1758
1770-1780
1800-1827 (compiled); some 1726
1765-1770
1759-1769
1765-1775
1750-1752
1750-1752
ca. 1925
Possibly 1900-1930