The Home Beautiful: The Chelsea Turkish Table Figure, 1755

Figure
Chelsea Porcelain Factory, 1755
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the Eighteenth Century, in response to the popular dessert table figure groups made in France and Germany, Britain’s Chelsea Factory began making their own sets of porcelain figures designed to be brought out with the dessert course during a stylish meal in a wealthy household.

In Britain, in 1755, when this figure and its companions were made, porcelains depicting people in Turkish dress were highly fashionable.   The Meissen factory in Germany was the first to make porcelain figures of Turks. Those figures were quickly copied by the English porcelain factories in Staffordshire and Chelsea. The Chelsea porcelain factory copied the figure pictured here from a Meissen example modelled by Johann Friedrich Eberlein (1695-1749) in 1746.  This figure was part of a group meant for a dessert table.

Horace Walpole wrote of this decorative phenomenon in 1753 that displays of sugar plums and other confectionery had “long given way to harlequins, gondoliers, Turks, Chinese, and sheperdesses of Saxon china.”


This set is unique in that it wasn't just purely decorative, but useful.  The shell-shaped dishes attached to each figure would have served to hold candies, nuts or small pastries.

The Art of Play: A Bottle Opener Depicting Karagoz, Punch's Turkish Cousin

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mr. Punch has many cousins throughout the world.  His Turkish counterpart is known as Karagoz.  Unlike Mr. Punch, however, Karagoz is not primarily presented as a glove puppet, he is always performed as a shadow puppet, a flat, joined figure manipulated by rods from behind a screen.  It's this method of performing which lends Karagoz his name which literally translates to "Black-Eye."  The figures were always designed so that the pupil of Karagoz's eye appeared as a black circle.  This outgoing, amorous and sometimes violet and obscene character sports a thick, curly beard and a bald head.  So, I guess he's a puppet hipster.

Karagoz's nemesis is called Hacivat who is somehow always wiser and more sophisticated than Karagoz.  He is usually represented with a neat beard and a tall pointed hat. The female characters included Karagoz and Hacivat’s wives.  A wealth of other characters added humor and complications to these farcical shows which were usually improvised.

This brass bottle opened of unknown origin and creation date represents Karagoz.  It was likely made in Turkey.

Unusual Artifacts: A Bottle Opener Depicting Karagoz, Punch's Turkish Cousin

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mr. Punch has many cousins throughout the world.  His Turkish counterpart is known as Karagoz.  Unlike Mr. Punch, however, Karagoz is not primarily presented as a glove puppet, he is always performed as a shadow puppet, a flat, joined figure manipulated by rods from behind a screen.  It's this method of performing which lends Karagoz his name which literally translates to "Black-Eye."  The figures were always designed so that the pupil of Karagoz's eye appeared as a black circle.  This outgoing, amorous and sometimes violet and obscene character sports a thick, curly beard and a bald head.  So, I guess he's a puppet hipster.

Karagoz's nemesis is called Hacivat who is somehow always wiser and more sophisticated than Karagoz.  He is usually represented with a neat beard and a tall pointed hat. The female characters included Karagoz and Hacivat’s wives.  A wealth of other characters added humor and complications to these farcical shows which were usually improvised.

This brass bottle opened of unknown origin and creation date represents Karagoz.  It was likely made in Turkey.

The Home Beautiful: The Chelsea Turkish Table Figure, 1755

Figure
Chelsea Porcelain Factory, 1755
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the Eighteenth Century, in response to the popular dessert table figure groups made in France and Germany, Britain’s Chelsea Factory began making their own sets of porcelain figures designed to be brought out with the dessert course during a stylish meal in a wealthy household.

In Britain, in 1755, when this figure and its companions were made, porcelains depicting people in Turkish dress were highly fashionable.   The Meissen factory in Germany was the first to make porcelain figures of Turks. Those figures were quickly copied by the English porcelain factories in Staffordshire and Chelsea. The Chelsea porcelain factory copied the figure pictured here from a Meissen example modelled by Johann Friedrich Eberlein (1695-1749) in 1746.  This figure was part of a group meant for a dessert table.

Horace Walpole wrote of this decorative phenomenon in 1753 that displays of sugar plums and other confectionery had “long given way to harlequins, gondoliers, Turks, Chinese, and sheperdesses of Saxon china.”


This set is unique in that it wasn't just purely decorative, but useful.  The shell-shaped dishes attached to each figure would have served to hold candies, nuts or small pastries.