Skip to main content

Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe: C.3026A-1928

An image of Figure

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe

Maker(s)

Factory: Bow Porcelain Manufactory
Engraver: Mosely, Charles (After)
Painter: Worlidge, Thomas (After)

Entities

Categories

Description

Soft-paste porcelain figure of Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe.

Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, press-moulded, and lead-glazed on the exterior, and on a small area of the interior of the skirt. The porcelain appears slightly greyish-white and the glaze is speckly. The figure is open underneath and has, at the front, half of a square base cut diagonally. 'The Fine Lady' stands facing the front, with her head back. She wears a pinner, a ruffle round her neck, a pet-en-lair jacket with a sack back and small bobbles on the cuffs and front edges, double ruffles below the cuffs, and a wide hooped skirt. She rests her left arm over the skirt and holds a lapdog under her right arm.

Notes

History note: Mr Stoner (probably Mr George Stoner), Stoner & Evans, London, from whom purchased on 21 March 1917 for £125 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 25.3 cm
Width: 17.5 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Stratford-le-Bow ⪼ Essex ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

18th Century, Mid#
George II
Production date: circa AD 1755 : The greyish-white paste suggests that this Kitty was made later than the example dated 1750.

Note

The Dublin-born actress, Catherine Clive (née Rafter, 1711-85), known as Kitty, joined the cast of Garrick's farce, Lethe as Mrs Riot or 'The Fine Lady' in 1749.The Bow model of Kitty was derived from a mezzotint of 1750 by Charles Mosely, traditionally said to be after a water-colour drawing by Thomas Worlidge,. A model on a high base, inscribed with the date 1750, is in the Fitzwilliam (EC.3-1938).

School or Style

Rococo

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Details

Materials used in production

presumed lead Lead-glaze
presumed phosphatic Soft-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Press-moulding : Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, press-moulded, and lead-glazed on the exterior, and on a small area of the interior of the skirt
Lead-glazing

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.3026A-1928
Primary reference Number: 41539
Old object number: 4491B
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 18 December 2023 Last processed: Monday 18 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) "Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/41539 Accessed: 2024-04-19 02:42:47

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/41539 |title=Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-19 02:42:47|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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-41539

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa3/C_3026A_1928_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

More objects and works of art you might like

Suggested products from Curating Cambridge

You might be interested in this...

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...