Figure Group of Bacchus and Ariadne (c. 1759): Art, History and Details

Figure Group of Bacchus and Ariadne (c. 1759) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Orléans Porcelain Factory.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Porcelain figurines decorated the tabletops and living spaces of wealthy Europeans. Though seen in three-dimensions, their inspiration was often drawn from two-dimensional print sources. Swathed in flowers, this figure group depicts Cretan princess Ariadne pouring a drink for the Roman god of wine, Bacchus. Their pose and surrounding scenery was based on an etching by French engraver Jacques Philippe le Bas.

Object facts

• Title: Figure Group of Bacchus and Ariadne
• Date: c. 1759
• Creator attribution: Orléans Porcelain Factory
• Culture: Germany, mid-18th century
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: soft-paste porcelain
• Dimensions: Overall: 25.4 x 18.8 x 16.9 cm (10 x 7 3/8 x 6 5/8 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1946.221

A detail from the museum

This object’s molding and all-white design is characteristic of blanc de chine, the French term referencing the highly prized porcelain produced in the southeastern Fujian province of Dehua, China, known for its pure color and high degree of translucence.

Collection credit

Gift of A. & R. Ball

Further reading listed by the museum

• Foote, Helen. "Bacchus and Venus, a Soft-Paste Figure." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 35, no. 1 (January 1948): 7-9.
• Froissart, Cyrille. "The Orleans Porcelain Manufactory: Its Production of Soft Paste Groups and Figures." The French Porcelain Society Journal 2 (2005): 47-93.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.