The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Candelabrum Depicting an Allegorical Figure of Matrimony

Candelabrum Depicting an Allegorical Figure of Matrimony

c. 1775
(Chelsea-Derby Period, 1770–84)
England, London, Chelsea
soft-paste porcelain
Overall: 31.1 x 25.7 x 15.6 cm (12 1/4 x 10 1/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness 1917.627.1
Location: 203A British Painting and Decorative Arts

Did You Know?

The canopy of foliage surrounding these figures was inspired by the arbors popular in theatrical stage designs during the mid-1700s.

Description

This allegorical figure depicts a shepherdess dressed in richly patterned garments. Here the figure (Matrimony) holds a birdcage in one hand and subtly directs the viewer’s gaze toward the sheep resting nearby with the other. An accompanying figure, a shepherd (Liberty) is joined by a dog and a bird that perches on his outstretched arm.
  • ?-1916
    Mary Warden Harkness [1864-1916], New York, NY, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1917-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Bequest of Mrs. Charles W. Harkness." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 4 (1917): 63. www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925.
    Only Candelabrum with Shepherd and Dog (1917.627.2) reproduced. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 11 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.
    Only Candelabrum with Shepherd and Dog (1917.627.2) reproduced. Reproduced: p. 10 archive.org
    Milliken, William Mathewson. "European Porcelains Bequeathed by Mary Warden Harkness." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 15, no. 2 (February 1928): 57-59. 25137108
  • British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    No legacy exhibitions.
    Art of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9-December 2, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Candelabrum Depicting an Allegorical Figure of Matrimony|url=false|author=Derby Porcelain Factory|year=c. 1775|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.627.1