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Boy representing Africa from a set of Continents or Four Quarters of the Globe
Factory:
Derby Porcelain Factory
Proprietor:
William Duesbury & Co.
Soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels, and gilt; inscribed 'AFRICA' on the front of the base
Soft-paste porcelain, slip-cast with applied details, painted over lead-glaze in blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange, dark pink, red, and black enamels, and gilt. The closed underside has three patch marks and a small circular ventilation hole near the back. The approximately circular base has slightly incurved sides with three kidney-shaped holes between scrolls on each side, and at the front, an asymmetrical cartouche inscribed ‘AFRICA’ in gold. At the back there is a low tree stump covered in applied flowers and foliage. In front of it stands a lion with its head on the viewer’s right. The young black boy stands on his right leg with his left bent and resting on the lion’s back. He looks towards his right, and holds a lobster in his right hand in front of him, and, with his left arm holds a cornucopia filled with corn and flowers to his left side. He has black skin and wears a cream and pale orange elephant’s head headdress, a coral necklace, and a pink and turquoise drape with gold edges. There are groups of orange and yellow, and dark pink and yellow flowers and leaves on the ground in front of him. The base is picked out in turquoise, pink, and gold.
History note: Unknown before donor
Bequeathed by Angus W.C. Crisp in memory of his father, George Crisp
Height: 8 7/8 in
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1943-05-29) by Crisp, Angus William Clabbon
18th Century, Late
George III
Production date:
circa
AD 1780
The figure of Africa derives ultimately from the representation in Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia, 1593, the first illustrated edition of which was published in Rome in 1603. It shows Africa as a woman with an elephant headdress, holding a lobster in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left, and having a lion behind her. The porcelain model also resembles the marble statue without a cornucopia or lobster in the garden at Versailles, begun by Sibrayque and completed by Jean Cornu (1650-1710) in 1682.. The Derby Continents may have been inspired by one of several Meissen sets of seated or standing figures modelled c. 1745-50, by J.J. Kaendler, P. Reinicke, and F.E. Meyer, but their immediate prototype appears to have been a set of Chelsea Continents of c. 1758-9.
Decoration composed of enamel ( blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange, dark pink, red, and black) gold
clear, presumed lead
Lead-glaze
Soft-paste porcelain
Slip casting
: Soft-paste porcelain slip-cast with moulded details, painted over lead-glaze in blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange, dark pink, red, and black enamels, and gilt; the closed underside has three patch marks, and a small circular ventilation hole near the back.
Glazing (coating)
Accession number: EC.6C-1943
Primary reference Number: 76988
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 (2024) "Boy representing Africa from a set of Continents or Four Quarters of the Globe" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76988 Accessed: 2024-12-22 12:31:02
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76988
|title=Boy representing Africa from a set of Continents or Four Quarters of the Globe
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-22 12:31:02|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-76988
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/aa2/EC_6C__1943_281_29.jpg"
alt="Boy representing Africa from a set of Continents or Four Quarters of the Globe"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Boy representing Africa from a set of Continents or Four Quarters of the Globe</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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