Neptune with a Dolphin representing Water from a Set of Elements
Factory:
Bow Porcelain Manufactory
Sculptor:
Le Gros, Pierre I
(After)
Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, figure of Neptune with a Dolphin, press-moulded with hand modelled details, painted in polychrome enamels, and gilt.
Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, figure of Neptune with a Dolphin, press-moulded with hand modelled details, painted over lead-glaze in greyish-blue, pale greyish-green, pale turquoise-green, pale yellow, flesh-pink, pink, dark pink, red, purplish-grey, and black enamels, and gilt. The glazed underside has a central, circular ventilation hole. The high square base has five scrolled feet and a pierced semi-circular rocaille motif between the two at the front. The upper part of the front above this is pierced by three circular holes. Neptune stands on his left leg with his right knee bent and his right foot resting on a dolphin behind him, whose open mouth spewing water projects on his left. He holds a vase filled with water under his left arm and with his right hand holds up his drapery in front of him. He has a circlet of green seaweed over his long, purplish-grey hair, and a long purplish-grey beard.. His drapery is decorated with a pattern of gold daisies in shaded pink circles, inter-spersed with red and gold foliage, and has a turquoise, pink, and pale yellow striped lining, and a gold edging. The vase is purplish grey with two gold bands. The dolphin has a pink, grey, and red head with black eyes, and a greyish-green body with grey scales, and red fins and tail. The top of the base is decorated with applied leaves and four groups of flowers: pink, blue, pink, and red. The scrolls on the base are picked out in gold.
History note: Unknown before donor, Mrs W.D. (Frances Louisa) Dickson, Bournemouth
Given by Mrs W.D. Dickson
Height: 27.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Given (1932-10-14) by Dickson, W. D. (Frances Louisa), Mrs
18th Century, third quarter#
George III
Circa
1765
CE
-
1770
CE
This figure was probably derived from the statue of Water by Pierre Le Gros (1629-1714) at the Fontaine du Point du jour or Cabinet des combats d'Animaux in the garden at Versailles. The pose of the figure also conforms to a reduced-size bronze of which there is an example in the Grünes Gewolbe, Dresden, which has also been transformed into a bearded Neptune.
Decoration
composed of
enamels
( greyish-blue, pale greyish-green, pale turquoise-green, pale yellow, flesh-pink, pink, dark pink, red, purplish-grey, and black)
gold
Details
presumed lead
Lead-glaze
presumed phosphatic
Soft-paste porcelain
Press-moulding
: Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, press-moulded with hand modelled details, painted in polychrome enamels, and gilt
Glazing (coating)
Accession number: C.55-1932
Primary reference Number: 41854
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) "Neptune with a Dolphin representing Water from a Set of Elements" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/41854 Accessed: 2024-12-31 12:12:30
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/41854
|title=Neptune with a Dolphin representing Water from a Set of Elements
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-31 12:12:30|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://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-41854
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