Mother teaching her child the alphabet
Manufacturer:
J & T Bevington
Sculptor:
Michelangelo Buonarroti
(After)
Parian porcelain, slip cast. The figures are supported on a circular base with a slight step in the sides and a moulded reticulated pattern on the top. The mother, dressed in Renaissance style in a long gown, with a cloak over her head, is seated on a stool, and rests her bare left foot on a footstool. Her hair is parted in the centre and two plaits hang down on each of her shoulders. In her left hand she holds a book incised with the alphabet letters ABCD/EF, which she is showing to a little boy standing on her right, and places her right hand on his back. The boy leans forward with both arms outstretched to touch the book, and gazes down at the lettering. He wears a short tunic gathered around the waist, and is barefooted. The underside of the base has a flange around the edge, and a small ventilation hole under the mother's stool.
History note: Manser's Antiques, Shrewsbury, from whom bought for £100 by John Edward Trice (1941-2022); bequeathed by him
Bequeathed by John Edward Trice, 2022
Height: 29.2 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (2024) by Trice, John Edward
19th Century, third quarter
Victoria
Circa
1865
-
1877
Although this model is said to have been inspired by Michelangelo's 'Bruges Madonna' it is is actually very different. The 'Bruges Madonna' is not teaching the Christ child to read, and he stands close to her knees facing towards the viewer. This group is reminiscent of a Derby porcelain group of a mother teaching her child to read but has the figures transposed.
Base Diameter 16.5 cm
Slip casting : Parian porcelain, slip cast.
Accession number: C.10-2024
Primary reference Number: 317582
Old object number: 33
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) "Mother teaching her child the alphabet" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/317582 Accessed: 2025-03-24 22:46:31
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/317582
|title=Mother teaching her child the alphabet
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-03-24 22:46:31|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-317582
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