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