I Can Taste It Now: Savoring the New Installation in the Porcelain Gallery

This fall the RISD Museum Lucy Truman Aldrich Porcelain Gallery reopened with its cabinets filled with engaging figures and a diverse array of tableware. Comprising nearly 180 objects from the museum’s collection, this new installation focuses on the role that porcelain played in eighteenth-century life. First produced in Asia, porcelain was a prized commodity in 18th-century Europe, where it became part of—and represented—everyday life. Each case in the gallery holds a collection of porcelain related to daily activities of people engaged in work and play. Whether depicting a foreigner from an exotic land, an orchestral performance of a popular musical score, or a gardener with a bountiful harvest, the porcelain figures embody 18th-century European existence, while porcelain vessels speak both to aesthetic aspirations and practical needs.

Johann Wilhelm Lanz, modeler
German, b. 1725, active 1755–1761
Frankenthal Porcelain Factory
German, 1755–1800
Man Breaking Eggs, ca. 1757–1759
Porcelain with enamels and glaze
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.181.2

RISDM 55-181-1 v_01

Johann Wilhelm Lanz, modeler
German, b. 1725, active 1755–1761
Frankenthal Porcelain Factory
German, 1755–1800
Woman Making Sausages, ca. 1756
Porcelain with enamels and glaze
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.181.1

The first case in the gallery entices the senses with all things related to food. Imagine the smell of the freshly baked bread being offered by a market peddler from a basket carried on his back, or the tempting combination of farm-fresh eggs paired with savory sausages being prepared by a man and woman hard at work with their sleeves rolled up and aprons tied around their waists. From gardens and farms to the market to the table, the journey taken by delectable things to eat is well represented by ceramic depictions of growers, merchants, and chefs who produce, sell and prepare the various types of food. The 18th century brought to Europe great changes to the available variety of food, the way it was prepared, and the manner in which it was served. Irrigation systems watered old favorites and new species, hothouses produced out-of-season vegetables, and citrus fruits were planted in mobile pots to accommodate changing seasons.

Risdm 35 611 Group

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
German, 1710–present
Partial Service, ca. 1760
Porcelain with enamels, glaze, and gilding
Bequest of Susan Martin Allien 35.611, .612, .614, .620, .622, .623

The culinary odyssey ended on a table animated by an assortment of arranged porcelain figures and set with porcelain wares, beautifully enameled in brilliant hues and often gilded. The rising popularity of tea, coffee, and chocolate spurred the creation of new porcelain forms, and tablewares often specialized to a particular type of food. Each piece of this partial service made by the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory is decorated with different depictions of finely enameled birds with colorful plumage. The avian subjects were rooted in natural history volumes with hand-colored plates that were coveted by collectors and also used in manufactory workshops, where images were copied by porcelain painters. Eleazar Albin’s A Natural History of Birds (1731–38) was acquired by the Meissen manufactory in April 1745 and used for paintings on vases and, perhaps, for the paintings on this rare hot beverage service.

RISDM 37-090-2 v_01

Johann Joachim Kändler, modeler
German, 1706–1775
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
German, 1710–present
Tea Jug, 1735–1737
Porcelain with enamels, glaze, and gilding
Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 37.090.2

An ardent collector and benefactor of the RISD Museum, Lucy Truman Aldrich assembled a European porcelain collection comprised of more than 170 works from England, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, and China. The Lucy Truman Aldrich Porcelain Gallery—fashioned from 18th-century British pine paneling and a mantelpiece from Chipstead Place, a house in Kent, England—is furnished with pieces from her collection, as well as pieces given by her sister, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and her friend, Helen Metcalf Danforth.

 

Elizabeth A. Williams
Curator of Decorative Arts and Design