England, London, Chelsea / c. 1761
Figure of the Pietà
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Figure of the Pietà as ceramic (England, London, Chelsea · c. 1761).
Only three examples of this figure by the Chelsea Porcelain Factory are known to exist.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels and credits Joseph Willems (Flemish, 1715–1766).
The museum's collection notes: The distinctively Roman Catholic subject of Mary cradling her son, the crucified Christ, suggests this figure was probably made for one of the aristocratic English families forced to practice their Catholicism in secret during the mid-1700s. Because of the laws banning Catholic worship in England, grand houses were often modified to include private chapels or rooms in private quarters where visiting priests delivered the sacraments in defiance of the laws favoring Protestant worship. A figure of this size and type likely would have served as an important devotional focal point within that context.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtFigure of the PietàOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.