The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 19, 2025

Figure of the Pietà

c. 1761
(Flemish, 1715–1766)
(Britain, London, 1745–84)
England, London, Chelsea
Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels
height: 38.5 cm (15 3/16 in.)
Museum purchase from various donors by exchange 2019.75
Location: 203A British Painting and Decorative Arts

Did You Know?

Only three examples of this figure by the Chelsea Porcelain Factory are known to exist.

Description

The distinctively Roman Catholic subject of Mary cradling her son, the crucified Christ, suggests this figure was probably made for one of the aristocratic English families forced to practice their Catholicism in secret during the mid-1700s. Because of the laws banning Catholic worship in England, grand houses were often modified to include private chapels or rooms in private quarters where visiting priests delivered the sacraments in defiance of the laws favoring Protestant worship. A figure of this size and type likely would have served as an important devotional focal point within that context.
  • 1991
    (Christies, London, February 11, 1991, no. 90)
    1991
    (Robert Williams, Winifred Williams, Ltd., London, 1991)
    1992-?
    Private collector, Australia, 1992
    2018
    (E. & H. Manners,Ltd., London, 2018)
    2019-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mathew Martin, “The Chelsea Pietà,” in Fire and Form: The Baroque and Influence on English Ceramics, c. 1600-c. 1760 (London: English Ceramic Circle, 2013) Mentioned: pp. 82-3 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Harrison, Stephen. “Acquisitions 2019: Decorative Art and Design.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 60, no. 2 (March/April 2020): 27. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 27.
  • British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    No existing exhibition history
  • {{cite web|title=Figure of the Pietà|url=false|author=Joseph Willems, Chelsea Porcelain Factory|year=c. 1761|access-date=19 May 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.75