Skip to main content

Mercury Standing: C.20B-1928

An image of Figure

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Mercury Standing

Maker(s)

Factory: Derby Porcelain Factory
Proprietor: William Duesbury & Co.

Entities

Categories

Description

Soft-paste porcelain figure of Mercury, slip-cast, and painted over glaze in turquoise, green, yellow, pink, flesh pink, red, brown, and a little black enamel-colours, and gilt

Soft-paste porcelain figure of Mercury, slip-cast, and painted over glaze in turquoise, green, yellow, pink, flesh pink, red, brown, and a little black enamel-colours, and gilt. The almost unglazed underside has a circular ventilation hole near the back, and four patch marks. The almost round mound base is decorated round the front with scrolls and rocaille frills, and rises up at the back into a tall heap of rocks or clouds which support the figure. On the top on the viewer's right there is a drawstring purse and three gold coins, and on the left, a bale of goods tied crosswise with cord. Mercury strides forward on his right foot, his left extended behind him, its toe resting on a rock or cloud. His right hand is raised holding a drawstring purse, and his left is held down and out in front of him, and originally held a caduceus. He wears a winged helmet with a pink crown and red underside with a gold edge, a white off the right shoulder tunic semé with yellow, pink, and red floral sprays, and a swirling pink drapery. The bale is pale brown, and the money bags green. The front of the base is picked out in green, turquoise, and gold, and the rocks or clouds are pale yellow and pinkish-mauve.

Notes

History note: Unknown before donor

Legal notes

Given by J.R. Wardale

Measurements and weight

Height: 34.5 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Derby ⪼ Derbyshire ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1928) by Wardale, J. R.

Dating

18th Century, Mid#
George III
Circa 1765 - 1770

School or Style

Rococo

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of lead-glaze ( presumed lead-glaze) enamels ( turquoise, green, yellow, pink, flesh pink, red, brown, and a little black) gold
Base Width 14.0 cm

Materials used in production

Soft-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Slip-casting : Soft-paste porcelain, slip-cast, and painted over glaze in turquoise, green, yellow, pink, flesh pink, red, brown, and a little black enamel-colours, and gilt
Lead-glazing

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.20B-1928
Primary reference Number: 42733
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 25 February 2020 Last processed: Monday 18 December 2023

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 (2024) "Mercury Standing" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/42733 Accessed: 2024-11-21 19:01:32

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/42733 |title=Mercury Standing |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-21 19:01:32|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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-42733

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa2/C_20B_1928_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Mercury Standing"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Mercury Standing</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...