Figure of Europe c. 1766

This is "Figure of Europe," made around 1760 at the Bow Porcelain Factory in England. The figure is rendered in soft-paste porcelain, a somewhat unstable material that was fired at a relatively low temperature. Look closely and you’ll see the telltale signs of this process: a slightly blurry quality to the details and a milky, almost translucent surface. The figure itself is allegorical, with “Europe” shown in armor, leaning on a shield, and surrounded by symbols of the continent. The Bow factory was one of several in 18th-century England that attempted to imitate true hard-paste porcelain from China. The result was a boom in the production of decorative wares like this one, made possible by the division of labor into specialized tasks. While perhaps not "high art", pieces like this were immensely popular, and speak volumes about the rise of consumer culture. They remind us that all art is made by someone, under particular conditions of labor.