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Hen and chickens tureen and stand
Factory: Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory
Soft-paste porcelain painted overglaze in polychrome enamels.
Soft-paste porcelain painted in blue, green, yellow, red, purple, purplish-brown, grey, and black enamels. The life-size hen has chicks under both wings and one upon the hen's back forming the handle of the tureen's cover (A), all painted naturalistically. The dish (B) is painted in polychrome with sun-flowers, other flowers, and leaves.
History note: Dick Gelston
Bequeathed in memory of Robert Gelston, Limerick by his brother Dick Gelston, 1957
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1958-10-16) by Gelston, Dick
18th Century, Mid
George II
Red anchor period (1752-1756)
Circa
1755
CE
-
Circa
1756
CE
Label text from the exhibition ‘Feast and Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500–1800’, on display at The Fitzwilliam Museum from 26 November 2019 until 31 August 2020: Many people kept domesticated poultry – chickens, geese, and ducks – for their eggs, meat, and feathers, for personal use or for sale. In Humoral theory, chickens were classified as hot and dry, which made them suitable for those with cold and humid temperaments. This hen-shaped tureen was meant to serve hot soup, but the soft-paste porcelain manufactured by Chelsea in the mid-1750s was not heatproof, which may explain the severe cracks in its base.
Decoration
composed of
enamels
( polychrome)
Hen
Height 25.3 cm
Length 34 cm
Width 24 cm
Dish
Height 7.1 cm
Length 48.7 cm
Width 37.6 cm
presumed lead
Lead-glaze
Soft-paste porcelain
Moulding
: Soft-paste porcelain, moulded in parts, assembled, lead-glazed, and painted overglaze in blue, green, yellow, red, purple, purplish-brown, grey, and black enamels
Glazing (coating)
Inscription present: an anchor
Inscription present: circular white paper stick on label
Accession number: C.3 & A & B-1958
Primary reference Number: 118354
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Hen and chickens tureen and stand" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/118354 Accessed: 2024-11-02 16:38:12
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/118354
|title=Hen and chickens tureen and stand
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-02 16:38:12|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Hen and chickens tureen and stand</figcaption>
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