Asia and Africa

Vincennes Manufactory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Asia and Africa is one of a relatively small number of glazed porcelain figure groups produced at the Vincennes factory in the years between 1750 and 1752. These groups represent the factory’s first attempt at porcelain sculpture, and while they reflect varying degrees of technical success, the figures are remarkably ambitious efforts on the part of a young, small enterprise. The factory stopped glazing porcelain sculpture in 1752 – perhaps because the glaze slightly obscured the details of the modeling – but the figures made prior to this date are regarded as among the factory’s greatest artistic successes. The group representing Asia and Africa is one of the most accomplished of the Vincennes glazed groups in terms of its sophisticated composition, skillful modeling, and the pronounced whiteness of the porcelain paste. [Jeffrey H. Munger, 2012]

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art