Bowl

ca. 1765

The stunning chinoiserie scene of a musician is produced in richly burnished impasto gilding upon a deep blue ground, known at the Chelsea manufactory as mazarine blue. This bowl served as a waste bowl for a tea service. Before offering a fresh cup of tea to a guest, the mistress of the house would dump the dregs of the previous serving into this bowl, give the cup a quick wash with hot water from a kettle, and then replenish it.

Soft paste porcelain

4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm), height

6 3/4 in. (17.2 cm), diameter

Gift of Martha and Henry Isaacson

76.236

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of the Earl of Jersey, ca. 1760-1950s; collection of Mr and Mrs Henry and Martha Isaacson, unknown purchase date until 1976; gift from Mr and Mrs Henry and Martha Isaacson to Seattle Art Museum, Washington, 1976

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Porcelain Stories: From China to Europe", February 17, 2000-May 7, 2000 (2/17/2000 - 5/7/2000)

Published ReferencesEmerson, Julie, Jennifer Chen, & Mimi Gardner Gates, "Porcelain Stories, From China to Europe", Seattle Art Museum, 2000, pg. 206

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