Cavalier (one of a pair) 1765 - 1775

This is a delicate porcelain Cavalier, approximately 8 inches high, crafted at the Fulda Pottery and Porcelain Manufactory, sometime between 1764 and 1789. At the time these figurines were made, Europe’s royalty and aristocracy frequently commissioned porcelain figures, which reflect a fascination with courtly life, love, and leisure. The Fulda Manufactory was founded by the Prince-Bishop of Fulda, and it is no coincidence that we see the elite immortalized in porcelain. Yet, something is subtly amiss. These idealized visions of wealth and power, frozen in time, also reveal the social disparities of 18th-century Europe. The figures are beautiful, but they remind us to consider who profits from these structures and who remains unseen. These works speak to how identity and class are performed, consumed, and immortalized through art.