Tankard
Manufacturer
Vincennes Porcelain Manufactory
(French, 1739 - 1756)
Dateca. 1753
MediumSoft-paste porcelain with gilding
DimensionsOverall: 6 × 3 5/8 inches (15.24 × 9.21 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: Nelson Gallery Foundation
Object numberF84-53 A,B
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 122
Collections
DescriptionDark blue cylindrical form and slightly domical cover, floral knop with leaf spray in gold and white, gilded white handle joined to body with foliate trefoil. Body and cover have gold framed reserves of birds flying and walking amid bulrushes, palms, etc.Exhibition HistoryLuxury and Passion: Inventing French Porcelain, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, August 13 2022–August 12 2024, no cat.
Because royal decrees outlawed the use of gilding by other factories, this tankard was the kind of luxury item that only Vincennes could make. The combination of its deep blue glaze, called bleu lapis because it resembles the color of the mineral lapis lazuli, with the painted gilt decoration of birds and leaves is very rare for the factory. In 1752, only about 3.5 percent of the total works produced used it.
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