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Lady with a child and a cat playing with a string toy
Made at: Chelsea Manufactory (England, active 1745–1784)
Modeled by: Joseph Willems (Belgian, 1710–1766)
After: François Boucher (French, 1703–1770)
Modeled by: Joseph Willems (Belgian, 1710–1766)
After: François Boucher (French, 1703–1770)
English
about 1750–52
Object Place: Europe, England
Medium/Technique
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
23.5 x 15 x 12 cm (9 1/4 x 5 7/8 x 4 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Jessie and Sigmund Katz Collection
Accession Number1988.804
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
DescriptionUndecorated white figural group of a mother and child in Chinese costume playing with a kitten lying at their feet. Base is sparsely decorated with applied flowers and leaves. Woman with elaborately dressed hair wears a loose robe tied with a sash. An incised zigzag pattern decorates the collar, a diamond pattern on the hem. Child has four tufts of hair, full trousers, and a loose jacket draped back to expose his abdomen. His left arm rests on the worman's raised right knee. His right arm is raised and he holds a stick to which a string is attached, passing through a ball on the base in front of the cat and back to another stick in the woman's left hand. After an engraving "La Merite de tout Pays" by Pierre Aveline after Boucher.
Marks
Raised anchor on top of the base behind figure of the mother.
Provenance1958, Sigmund J. Katz (b. 1897 - d. 1958), New Orleans; 1958, by inheritance to Jessie W. (Mrs. Sigmund J.) Katz (b. 1901 - d. 1988), New Orleans [see note 1]; 1988, gift of Mrs. Katz to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 30, 1988)
NOTES:
[1] In 1958, Sigmund Katz bequeathed one-half interest in his porcelain collection to the MFA, and one-half life interest to his wife, Jessie Katz.
NOTES:
[1] In 1958, Sigmund Katz bequeathed one-half interest in his porcelain collection to the MFA, and one-half life interest to his wife, Jessie Katz.