Figure of the Day: Winter and Spring, 1759-1769

Figure Group
Chelsea, England
1759-1769
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This figure group in soft-paste porcelain, enamels and gilding, depicts a skating man—a representation of Winter—and a woman who gathers flowers into her apron. Of course, she represents Spring. The holly bush behind them, an evergreen, joins them together.

The group, made by the Chelsea Porcelain Factory between 1759 and 1769 demonstrates the fine quality of the masterful porcelain pieces which were produced in England during the mid-Eighteenth Century. Mimicking the French fashion, manufactures such as the Chelsea Factory were able to create exceptional pieces with the brilliant-hued enamels which were so fashionable at the time. In true Rococo style, the base features graceful curves and applied foliage.

This group was a pair with another representing Summer and Autumn.