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Fighting Cock Tureen (one of a pair): C.4.1 & A-1958

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 26 (Lower Marlay)

Titles

Fighting Cock Tureen (one of a pair)

Maker(s)

Factory: Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory

Entities

Categories

Description

Soft-paste porcelain tureen and cover, moulded in the form of a life-sized fighting cock, and painted overglaze in polychrome enamels. One of a pair with C.4.2 & A-1958

Notes

History note: Possibly the Duchess of Cleveland; possibly the pair of tureens was sold on 30 March 1922, lot 91, as part of the 'Catalogue of Oil Paintings, Tapestries, Porcelain and Furniture' auctioned by Mr W. Rendall Darby, of the firm of Messrs. J & R Kemp and Co., 125 High Holborn, WC1. A pair of 14 1/2 in Old Chelsea tureens and covers in the form of fighting cocks, enamelled in colours (no price or purchaser given). Robert Gelston, Limerick; his brother, Dick Gelston.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Dick Gelston in memory of his brother Robert Gelston, Civil Engineer, Limerick.

Measurements and weight

Height: 9 in
Length: 15 in

Place(s) associated

  • Chelsea ⪼ Middlesex ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1958-10-16) by Gelston, Dick

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
Red anchor period (1752-1756)
Circa 1752 - 1756

Note

This very rare fighting cock tureen and its pair, are probably similar to the ones mentioned in the sale catalogue of the productions of the Chelsea Factory held on 27 March 1755, which included as lot no 52, as 'a very curious tureen in the shape of two fighting cocks big as the life', presumably actually two tureens, and one is not known in the form of two. Another example is in the Art Institute of Chicago, European Decorative Arts Department, accession no. 1964.1142.

School or Style

Rococo

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels ( polychrome)

Materials used in production

presumed lead Lead-glaze
Soft-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Moulding : Soft-paste porcelain, moulded in the form of a large fighting cock, and painted overglaze in polychrome enamels
Glazing (coating)

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.4.1 & A-1958
Primary reference Number: 131418
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 5 September 2024 Last processed: Saturday 22 March 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Fighting Cock Tureen (one of a pair)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/131418 Accessed: 2025-05-07 13:43:10

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/131418 |title=Fighting Cock Tureen (one of a pair) |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-05-07 13:43:10|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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