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Figure personifying a spring

Modeler Model probably supplied by Guillaume Dupré French
Probably made in the pottery at Avon of Claude Bertélemy French
modeled ca. 1600–1610, ca. 1620–25
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 544
This polychrome-glazed earthenware "gondola" cup was probably modeled by Guillaume Dupré, following the sculptural style of Bernard Palissy. The design and spirit of the "gondola," a contemporary term for this ceramic type of a woman in a bath, suggest it was intended to be decorative rather than utilitarian. Employing Palissy's saturated color glazes, textured waves, and shell-like lobes, the piece also hints at the erotic nature of court art through its high-relief rendering of the nude female figure. The partly submerged woman personifying a spring was a popular theme at the court of Fontainebleau, itself named after a local water source, which numerous potters imitating Palissy's style in the nearby village of Avon frequently employed. Palissy himself, known principally for his innovative rustic ceramics, demonstrated an interest in this motif through his numerous works bearing representations of water. In the first decades of the seventeenth century, "gondola" cups were also made in silver, silver gilt, amber, crystal, enamel, and natural shell.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Figure personifying a spring
  • Modeler: Model probably supplied by Guillaume Dupré (French, 1579–1640)
  • Maker: Probably made in the pottery at Avon of Claude Bertélemy (French, 1525–1626)
  • Date: modeled ca. 1600–1610, ca. 1620–25
  • Culture: French, Fontainebleau or Avon
  • Medium: Lead-glazed earthenware
  • Dimensions: 3 3/16 × 4 15/16 in. (8.1 × 12.5 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Pottery
  • Credit Line: Gift of Julia A. Berwind, 1953
  • Object Number: 53.225.54
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Gondola cup (Coupe gondole) with Bacchus and Ceres, Lead-glazed earthenware, French, Avon or Fontainebleau
Gondola cup (Coupe gondole) with Bacchus and Ceres
French, Avon or Fontainebleau
early 17th century
Gondola cup (Coupe gondole) with Venus as Summer and Adonis as Autumn, Lead-glazed earthenware, French, Avon or Fontainebleau
Gondola cup (Coupe gondole) with Venus as Summer and Adonis as Autumn
French, Avon or Fontainebleau
early 17th century
Gondola cup (Coupe gondole), Bernard Palissy French, Lead-glazed earthenware, French
Gondola cup (Coupe gondole)
Bernard Palissy
probably 19th century
Cosimo II De'Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1609–1621) and Maria Magdalena of Austria
Guillaume Dupré
1613
Henry IV, King of France (b. 1553, r. 1589–1610), Guillaume Dupré French, Bronze, brown patina, French
Henry IV, King of France (b. 1553, r. 1589–1610)
Guillaume Dupré
17th century

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