Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
Bow Porcelain Works, London (manufacturer)
Seated nun (1752-1755)
porcelain (soft-paste)
14.4 × 10.0 × 11.2 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Patricia Begg OAM Bequest, 2024
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Where possible, the image must be reproduced in full (no cropping or over-printing). If you wish to use a detail of the work, a full reproduction of the work must also be reproduced elsewhere in the publication.
While the NGV believes this work to be in the Public Domain, it is the responsibility of the publisher to ensure that no further permissions are required for use.
For a complete list of terms and condition of use see the National Gallery of Victoria’s copyright policy.
Seated nun
(1752-1755)
Medium
porcelain (soft-paste)
Measurements
14.4 × 10.0 × 11.2 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Patricia Begg OAM Bequest, 2024
Gallery location
17th & 18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Members of Roman Catholic religious orders were represented in porcelain by a number of German factories. Intriguing, however, is the fact that, despite Catholic religious orders being banned in Protestant England since the sixteenth century, many English factories, including Chelsea, Bow, Derby, Longton Hall and Plymouth, produced figures of monks and nuns. English anti-Catholic sentiment saw monks and nuns transformed into objects of ridicule, and in the eighteenth century these roles also became favourite masquerade disguises. Yet these figures may also be read as indicators of a shifting attitude towards Catholicism within elite social contexts.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
London, England
Accession Number
2024.255
Department
International Decorative Arts