Bältesspannarna ('The Belt Bound' or 'The Knife Wrestlers')
Manufacturer:
Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory
Sculptor:
Molin, Johan Peter
(After)
Parian porcelain. Two nude men wrestling on an elongated oval base. The men are belted together round their waists. The one on the right holds a knife in his raised right hand, and is partly obscured by a flowing drape which passes over his right shoulder, across his front, and down onto the ground. The other man holds his knife in his lowered right hand, and his opponent grasps his wrist to prevent him using it. The top of the back of the base is inscribed 'I P MOLIN.STOCKHOLM 1864' within a rectangular outline.
History note: Bought for £140 in Bristol in 1976 by the donor, John Edward Trice, MA, LLM (1941-2022); bequeathed by him
Bequeathed by John Edward Trice, 2022
Height: 52 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (2024) by Trice, John Edward
19th Century, third quarter
Production date:
dated
AD 1864
: possibly made later
The Gustavsberg porcelain factory made Parian porcelain from1861. Production was initiated by a British foreman, George Barlow, and at first the models were strongly influenced by English Parian products, but within a short time a distinctively Swedish style had developed. This large group was modelled after the bronze public sculpture completed in 1859 by the Swedish sculptor, Johan Peter Molin (1814–73), of which there are examples in front of the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm, and in parks in Gothenburg and Hällefors. The Parian model continued to be produced in the early 20th century. The model shows a combat with knives by two men bound together at the belt buckle, purportedly a Viking practice that stopped either fighter from running away.
Base Depth 19 cm Length 38.5 cm
Slip-casting : Parian porcelain slip cast in sections and assembled before firing
Inscription present: circular white paper stick on label; the 1 is written like a Roman I
Accession number: C.9-2024
Primary reference Number: 317581
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 (2025) "Bältesspannarna ('The Belt Bound' or 'The Knife Wrestlers')" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317581 Accessed: 2025-03-26 14:36:50
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317581
|title=Bältesspannarna ('The Belt Bound' or 'The Knife Wrestlers')
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-03-26 14:36:50|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-317581
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