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Prudence
Potter:
Wood, Enoch
Sculptor:
Rysbrack, John Michael
(After)
Factory:
Enoch Wood
Factory:
Wood & Caldwell
Lead-glazed earthenware painted in enamels
Earthenware, moulded, covered with slightly greenish-blue tinted lead-glaze and painted in royal blue, green, pale yellow, flesh pink, red, pale purple, shades of brown, and black enamels. Prudence is supported on a rectangular base which is hollow underneath. She has pale brown hair drawn into a chignon, with long locks falling down onto her shoulders at the back. Her features are delicately tinted in brown and flesh pink. she wears a blue headband, a long pale cream dress scattered with spots and floral sprays, a red belt, a turquoise cloak with a yellow lining and brown sandals. She stands on her right leg with her left relaxed at the knee. Her head is turned three-quarters to her left. Her right arm is extended to the side and that hand grasps a snake. Her left arm is bent at the elbow and the hand holds the handle of a mirror, now missing. The base is painted in shades of brown, blue and black to resemble marble.
History note: 1Christie's, March or April 1905; Mr A.G. Smith from whom purchased with a figure of Fortitude for £40 on 2 June 1905 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge
Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest
Depth: 16.5 cm
Height: 52 cm
Width: 28 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
18th Century, Late
George III
Circa
1790
CE
-
1800
CE
Prudence and Fortitude were two of the four cardinal virtues. The others were Justice and Temperance.
This figure and its companion, Fortitude, are attributed to Enoch Wood's factory on the basis of a pair marked 'E. WOOD' impressed. The figures are after terracotta models dated 1743 by J. Michael Rysbrack which were intended for a monument to John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and Greenwich (d. 1743) in Westminster Abbey, but were never executed because Rysbrack lost the competition to Roubiliac. Plaster casts of the figures could have been supplied to Wood by Peter Vanina, who is known to have worked for Rysbrack and his clients, and who received a small bequest in his will. The Fitzwilliam's Wood figure of Shakespeare bears the initials PV. Alternatively casts could have been supplied by Charles Harris of the Strand (d. c. 1795) whose undated catalogue of casts includes figures of Prudence and Fortitude. (National Art Library, Victoria & Albert Museum, Box I.37.Y).
Decoration
composed of
enamel
( royal blue, green, pale yellow, flesh pink, red, pale purple, shades of brown, and black)
Base
tinted slightly greenish-blue
Lead-glaze
Earthenware
Moulding
: Earthenware, moulded, covered with slightly greenish-blue tinted lead-glaze, and painted in royal blue, green, pale yellow, flesh pink, red, pale purple, shades of brown, and black enamels
Lead-glazing
Inscription present: rectangular white paper stick-on label
Accession number: C.902B-1928
Primary reference Number: 76336
Old object number: 2312
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:
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Prudence" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76336 Accessed: 2024-11-02 08:29:54
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76336
|title=Prudence
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-02 08:29:54|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-76336
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/aa32/C_902B_1928.jpg"
alt="Prudence"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Prudence</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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