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Boy dressed as a Sultan: C.10-1947

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 26 (Lower Marlay)

Titles

Boy dressed as a Sultan

Maker(s)

Factory: Höchst Porcelain Manufactory
Modeller: Melchior, Johann Peter

Entities

Categories

Description

Hard-paste porcelain painted in enamels, and gilt

Hard-paste porcelain, press-moulded, and painted overglaze in green, grey-green, yellow, flesh pink, pink, a little red, brown, and black enamels, and gilt. The glazed underside is divided into two recessed areas by a transverse wall, and has a ventilation slit at the back. The low mound base has three sides, one straight, and the other two slightly curved and irregular in plan. The top is green with grey-green wavy lines overall to represent grass, and there are a few dabs of pale brown on the edge. The boy stands on his right leg with his left advanced. His right arm is akimbo, and his left at his side.The object held in his left hand is missing. His head is tilted slightly to his right, and he looks downwards. He has pink skin and dark brown eyes, and wears a turban with a pink crown, and gold striped white surround on which is a pink, green and yellow jewel. His breeches are pink, and he has a pink and gold striped long-sleeved coat, a long pink short-sleeved over-coat with a pale yellow lining, a yellow sash, and yellow shoes. Hanging round his neck on a pink ribbon is a gold crescent with a pink, red, and pale green jewel below it.

Notes

History note: Probably Dr J.W.L. Glaisher; Mrs W.D. (Frances Louisa) Dickson

Legal notes

Given by Mrs W.D. Dickson

Measurements and weight

Depth: 9.9 cm
Depth: 3 7/8 in
Height: 18.6 cm
Height: 7¼ in
Width: 10.7 cm
Width: 4 1/16 in

Place(s) associated

  • Höchst ⪼ Germany
  • Höchst-am-Main ⪼ Germany

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1947) by Dickson, W. D. (Frances Louisa), Mrs

Dating

18th Century, third quarter
Circa 1770 CE - 1775 CE

Note

The figure's pose appears to derive from a print of a Persian in the 'Receuil de Cent Estampes Representant differentes Nations du Levant . ..' commissioned by the Comte de Ferriol (1652-1722), the French ambassador to the Ottoman court from 1699 to 1711, published in Paris in 1714, and reprinted c. 1750 and c. 1764. The Meissen factory produced a series of adult figures from these prints, such as the Sultan Asseki, and pairs of Hungarians and Persians, c. 1750 (see C.41-49-1954), and a series of children in Turkish costume, c. 1756 which were commissioned by the Parisien marchand-mercier, Gille Bazin. The Meissen figures inspired numerous models by other European factories.

This figure is often paired with a girl dressed as a Sultana (see C.3-1947), sometimes called the Sultan's Children. It was modelled by Johann Peter Melchior who worked at Höchst from 1767-1779 when he moved to Frankenthal.

School or Style

Rococo

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels ( green, grey-green, yellow, flesh pink, pink, a little red, brown, and black)
Deocration composed of gold

Materials used in production

clear Glaze
Hard-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Press-moulding : Hard-paste porcelain, press-moulded in parts, assembled, glazed, and painted in green, grey-green, yellow, flesh pink, pink, a little red, brown, and black enamels, and gilt. The glazed underside is divided into two recessed areas by a transverse wall, and has a ventilation slit at the back.
Glazing (coating)

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: might be N G; the wheel mark is between the letters

  • Text: M G
  • Location: On front portion base
  • Method of creation: Incised
  • Type: Incised mark
  • Text: wheel
  • Location: On front portion of base
  • Method of creation: Painted underglaze in blue
  • Type: Factory mark

Inscription present: circular white paper label printed with a wide black border and reserved letters

  • Text: FRANCES L. DICKSON∙
  • Location: On rear portion of base
  • Method of creation: Printed in black
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.10-1947
Primary reference Number: 140093
Old object number: 5033
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 11 October 2016 Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023

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 (2024) "Boy dressed as a Sultan" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/140093 Accessed: 2024-12-18 16:06:05

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/140093 |title=Boy dressed as a Sultan |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-18 16:06:05|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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