Skip to main content
Advanced Search
DS1994-0125
Figure, Monkey Band
DS1994-0125

Figure, Monkey Band

Dateca. 1756
Artist/Maker Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (1745-1769)
OriginEngland, Middlesex, Chelsea
MediumSoft-paste porcelain
DimensionsOH:6 5/16"; OW:2 3/4"; OD:2 1/2"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1952-623
DescriptionMolded, soft-paste porcelain figure of a male monkey standing on his hind legs. A long drum hangs from a strap on his left arm. In his left hand he holds a horn and in his right hand he holds a drumstick. His head, arms, and legs are painted with short brown lines to simulate hair. He wears a black tricorn hat with an orange feather and a gilt rim; a curled wig; a light yellow shirt with gilt buttons, short scalloped sleeves, and scalloped shirt tail; and light purple breeches with a red-orange flower at the knee. He is supported by a stump which 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. This figure is playing the pipe and tabor. The original Meissen example may have been taken from a print entitled "Le Tambourin" in a series of French engravings dating from the early eighteenth century. The figure differs from the other musicians in that he is the only male monkey who does not wear a coat or a long-sleeved shirt. Two other Chelsea examples survive, including one at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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.
InscribedNone
MarkingsNone
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.
Exhibition(s)