The Peep Show, or the Magic Lantern (La Curiosité ou La Lanterne Magique)

Applied Arts of Europe

c. 1757

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
French, founded 1740
Modeled by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (French, 1716-1791)

Beginning in the mid-1750s, biscuit, or unglazed porcelain, replaced glazed porcelain in sculpture because fine details were sometimes obscured by glazes. In addition, the matte surface of biscuit pieces resembled marble, a medium favored in sculpture. Unglazed porcelain figures were often sold with dinner services, and, as such, they replaced fragile sugar figures, which had adorned dessert tables of the previous era.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Applied Arts of Europe

Artist: Manufacture nationale de Sèvres (Manufacturer)
Title: The Peep Show, or the Magic Lantern (La Curiosité ou La Lanterne Magique)
Place: Sèvres (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1752–1762
Medium: Soft-paste unglazed porcelain (biscuit)
Dimensions: 15.6 × 16.8 cm (6 1/8 × 6 5/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Andrew G. Bustin
Reference Number: 1963.233
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/17052/manifest.json

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The Peep Show, or the Magic Lantern (La Curiosité ou La Lanterne Magique)

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.