About this artwork
This delicate fruit basket is a rare example of early American porcelain, one of around 20 known surviving works by Gousse Bonnin and George Anthony Morris’s American China Manufactory. Porcelain is a strong, luminous type of clay that originated in China, where its formula was a heavily guarded secret. It eventually emerged as a prized material in global luxury goods, causing fierce competition between various producers of porcelain wares. The American China Manufactory fruit basket represents the early advancements of this industry in the American colonies, which followed English precedents such as the Worcester Porcelain Factory basket also in this case.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 168
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- American China Manufactory (Producer)
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Title
- Fruit Basket
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Places
- Philadelphia (Object made in:), United States (Object made in:)
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Date
- c. 1770-1772
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Medium
- Soft-paste porcelain, underglaze blue decoration, and glaze
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Inscriptions
- Marked on bottom, in underglaze blue: "Z" (inverted).
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Dimensions
- 5.1 × 14.7 × 14.7 cm (2 × 5 3/4 × 5 3/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Vance American Art Fund; Americana, Jane and Morris Weeden, and Roger and J. Peter McCormick endowment funds
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Reference Number
- 2022.588
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/266210/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
