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Tureen in the form of a Rabbit

A work made of soft-paste porcelain and polychrome enamels.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of soft-paste porcelain and polychrome enamels.

Date:

1755–56

Artist:

Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory
English, c. 1745–1784
London

About this artwork

For the rich and powerful in the eighteenth century, formal dinner was theater, and it was not uncommon to serve multiple courses, each of which could consist of dishes arranged on the table. Pieces like the rabbit tureen were an important part of the theatrical set decoration. The Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory produced tureens not only in the form of rabbits but also vegetables and birds. Chelsea porcelain makers prided themselves on the realistic results of their craftsmanship, proclaiming in a sales catalogue that they offered “A Fine tureen in the form of a rabbit as big as life and an oval dish.” Composed of a material called soft-paste porcelain (usually a mixture of clay and ground glass), this tureen has a red anchor mark inside its lid. This mark was used between 1752 and 1756. This particular rabbit tureen is also labeled No. 3, marking it as third in a limited edition—twenty-five variations of this type are known. Like a fingerprint, no two Chelsea rabbit tureens are exactly the same, and each lid was compatible with only its tureen. The painter who decorated the pieces recorded each object’s number on its lid and its base so that they could be matched in case they were separated.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Artist

Chelsea Porcelain Factory

Title

Tureen in the form of a Rabbit

Place

Chelsea (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.

1755–1756

Medium

Soft-paste porcelain and polychrome enamels

Dimensions

22.9 × 35 × 22.9 cm (9 × 13 3/4 × 9 in.)

Credit Line

Amelia Blanxius Memorial Collection, gift of Mrs. Emma B. Hodge and Mrs. Jene E. Bell

Reference Number

1915.212a-b

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/71154/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.

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