Day 221 - Miniature cruets


 October 9, 2020

What I take to be gallery 512 (I didn't see gallery numbers) is a very large space containing literally  hundreds of 18th century decorative objects.  Tall cabinets filled with porcelains and silver draw the eye, but there are also numerous items of furniture (chairs, settees, and cabinets),  fireplace mantels,  and portrait busts on pedestals.  I take note, too, of oil portraits of young women by Romney and Reynolds. I know that Reynolds is known for prettifying the images of his sitters,  but in this case, it appears that his skills could go only so far. 


Placards on the wall describe the multiplicity of styles in evidence: Neoclassicism, chinoiserie, the Rococo (imported from France), and Gothic revival. Once again, the room goes for overall impressions rather than appreciation of individual objects, at least in  these Covid times,  since descriptions of the latter appear on hand-held cards which have been removed for our safety.  As elsewhere, stooping is often required to read the signs that do exist, and the lighting is subdued. 


I don't like many (most?) things enough to want to look closely at them - they are too fussy to appeal to my tastes. I am impressed, though, by two elaborate silver wine coolers made for Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister. I read that these would have been considered novelties when they were commissioned in 1716, since wine bottles themselves were relatively new at the time. And  I see that the  Wedgwood  items employ classical motifs- a robed and bearded musician playing a cithara, for example. Mostly, I wonder what appealed to the American collectors who acquired these objects and donated them to the Met. Did the British pedigree give new status to these collectors as well? 


While I'm indifferent to a lot of the stuff, I am drawn to a display of miniature silver objects - including pitchers, trays, candlesticks, coffee pots, teapots, and a bedwarmer -  and I'm enthralled by the artistry evident in a set off tiny glass cruets,  the tallest more than two inches high and each capped by a silver top.   The sign says that these were given as toys to  children - highly privileged children, to be sure.  I can readily see the attraction of having a dollhouse and receiving gifts like these to put in it.


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