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Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe: EC.3-1938

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Current Location: Gallery 26 (Lower Marlay)

Titles

Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe

Maker(s)

Factory: Bow Porcelain Manufactory
Printer: Mosely, Charles (After)
Painter: Worlidge, Thomas (After)

Entities

Categories

Description

Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, figure of Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe, press-moulded, and lead-glazed.

Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, figure of Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe, press-moulded and lead-glazed, including the inside walls of the pedestal. The figure is supported on a high square pedestal with cut corners and incurved sides, decorated on the front with a musical trophy in relief, and on the sides with frilling. 'The Fine Lady' stands facing the front, with her head back. She wears a pinner, a ruffle round her neck, a pet-en-lair jacket with a sack back, ruffled sleeves, and small bobbles on the cuffs and front edges, and a wide hooped skirt. She rests her left arm over the skirt and holds a lapdog under her right arm. The date '1750' is incised on the inside of one side of the pedestal.

Notes

History note: Mr Mansell, Bournemouth; Mrs W.D. Dickson

Legal notes

Given by Mrs W.D. Dickson

Measurements and weight

Height: 31.3 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1938) by Dickson, W. D. (Frances Louisa), Mrs

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
Production date: dated AD 1750

Note

The Dublin-born actress, Catherine Clive (née Rafter, 1711-85), known as Kitty, joined the cast of Garrick's farce, Lethe as Mrs Riot or 'The Fine Lady' in 1749.The Bow model of Kitty was derived from a mezzotint of 1750 by Charles Mosely, traditionally said to be after a water-clour drawing by Thomas Worlidge. For an illustration of the mezzotint, see Documentation, Yarborough, 1996.

School or Style

Rococo

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Base Depth 13.7 cm Width 15.0 cm
Skirt Width 17.3 cm

Materials used in production

presumed lead Lead-glaze
presumed phosphatic Soft-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Press-moulding : Soft-paste porcelain containing bone ash, press-moulded, and lead-glazed
Glazing (coating)

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: circular inscribed in blue biro

  • Text: 40
  • Method of creation: Inscribed in blue biro
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: circular

  • Text: FITZ/MUS
  • Method of creation: Printed in black
  • Type: Label
  • Text: 1750
  • Location: Inside one side of the pedestal
  • Method of creation: Incised
  • Type: Date

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: EC.3-1938
Primary reference Number: 41984

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 30 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/41984 Accessed: 2025-12-05 11:16:56

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/41984 |title=Kitty Clive as 'The Fine Lady' in Lethe |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 11:16:56|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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