Art Institute of Chicago

Covered Bowl and Stand

Mennecy Factory (France, 1750-73)

Date

c. 1750

Medium

Soft-paste porcelain and silver

Culture

Mennecy

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This covered bowl and stand, with only applied decoration and a clear lead glaze, reflects the broad interest in white, undecorated Chinese and Japanese wares in Europe in the eighteenth century. Referred to generally as blanc de Chine , these objects relied entirely on form and the purity of the porcelain clay for their beauty and interest. Many European factories, including Mennecy, Chantilly, Sèvres, Du Paquier, and Meissen, produced objects in imitation of blanc de Chine wares, though in the case of this covered bowl and stand, Mennecy has employed a classical rather than Far Eastern vocabulary. The overall form takes its inspiration from European silver, and the S-shaped handles and carefully modeled swags of leaves and currants are decidedly Western.

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