Fighting Cock Tureen (one of a pair)
Factory: Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory
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
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.
Bequeathed by Dick Gelston in memory of his brother Robert Gelston, Civil Engineer, Limerick.
Height: 9 in
Length: 15 in
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1958-10-16) by Gelston, Dick
18th Century, Mid
George II
Red anchor period (1752-1756)
Circa
1752
-
1756
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.
Decoration composed of enamels ( polychrome)
presumed lead
Lead-glaze
Soft-paste porcelain
Moulding
: Soft-paste porcelain, moulded in the form of a large fighting cock, and painted overglaze in polychrome enamels
Glazing (coating)
Accession number: C.4.1 & A-1958
Primary reference Number: 131418
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:
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
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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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