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Set of the Four Continents - America

Set of the Four Continents - America

ca. 1780

Unknown artist

English

The iconography for the group of continents coalesced in the seventeenth century in an illustrated dictionary, Icono-logia, by Cesare Ripa (published in Rome in 1603), and in the famous Atlas maior published as a set of eleven volumes in Amsterdam in 1662. A Dutch family of cartographers, named Blaeu, produced it. Female figures and an exotic animal from each land represent the continents.
Soft paste porcelain with enamel and gilt
9 9/16 x 4 1/8 in. (24.3 x 10.5 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Corydon Wagner
64.118
location
Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Museum: Mixed Metaphors, Fred Wilson, Jan. 28 - June 13, 1993. Text by Patterson Sims. No cat. no., reproduced p. 29.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Documents International: Reflections in the Mirror: A World of Identity, Apr. 23, 1998 - June 20, 1999.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Porcelain Stories: From China to Europe, Feb. 17 - May 7, 2000.

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