Dish

Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory

ca. 1752–56 · Soft-paste porcelain · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The image of a rhinoceros is derived from a woodcut of 1515 by Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), re-issued and copied many times in the ensuing centuries. An Indian rhinoceros belonging to King Manuel I of Portugal was the inspiration for the Dürer work. It was used for the decoration of a large dish in a Meissen porcelain service given to Britain's envoy to the Dresden court in 1745–52, Sir Charles Hanbury Williams. He sent the service to England. The rhinoceros dish was borrowed by the Chelsea Factory, with other pieces from the service, to be copied.

Artist

Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory

Date

ca. 1752–56

Medium

Soft-paste porcelain

Culture

British, Chelsea

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964