Asia, from Allegories of the Four Continents

Fulda Pottery and Porcelain Manufactory|Johann Andreas Herrlein

1781–88 · Hard-paste porcelain · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

In the eighteenth century, small-scale figurines representing the allegories of the four continents were a popular fixture in genteel spaces. While the dissemination of such iconography in print form encouraged scholarly reflection, its migration into the realm of the decorative arts prompted whimsy and pleasure. The polished surfaces and exquisite detail of this ambitious group by the Fulda Manufactory afforded European viewers the intimate, tactile experience of beholding representations of other continents, whose precious goods and natural resources they coveted.

Artist

Fulda Pottery and Porcelain Manufactory|Johann Andreas Herrlein

Date

1781–88

Medium

Hard-paste porcelain

Culture

German, Fulda

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Estate of James Hazen Hyde, 1959