{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O87380"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O87380/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BG2857/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BG2857/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006BG2857","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2007BM7289","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2007BM5513","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AN7212","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JY7548","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O87380/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O87380","accessionNumber":"C.356-1909","objectType":"Figure group","titles":[{"title":"L'Heure du Berger","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"The most important French porcelain factory was founded in 1740 in the royal chateau of Vincennes. In 1756 it was transferred to Sèvres, the other side of Paris, and shortly after was bought by Louis XV. The support and protection of the king and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, enabled it to secure the best artists, sculptors, designers and chemists. Sèvres porcelain soon became the most sought after in Europe.\r\nThe royal manufactory at Sèvres specialised in luxury porcelains, many of which were destined for the French court. Each year it displayed its newest models in the king's apartments at Versailles. The factory was very responsive to changes in fashion and introduced many innovations in design and decoration. Its products were admired throughout Europe and its style was widely imitated. \r\n\r\nThis figure group is one of Vincennes' earliest productions, probably made before the introduction of biscuit porcelain for sculptural work in 1751. It showcases the factory's much admired ivory white 'soft-paste' body. Like other 'soft-pastes' (imitation porcelains), this was made with a variety of ingredients other than kaolin and china stone. These includes sand, saltpetre and alabaster, which could be fused together for up to 50 hours, ground up for about three weeks, dried and crushed again, before being mixed with clay. Incredibly expensive and labout intensive to produce - and also vulnerable to damage during firing and use - this was eventually phased out after the discovery of kaolin at Limoges and the subsequent manufacture of 'hard paste' in the 1770s.","physicalDescription":"<i>L'Heure du Berger</i> group, perhaps representing Zephyrus and Flora, biscuit porcelain with gilt metal mount,Vincennes manufactory, France, c.1748-1755","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Vincennes porcelain factory","id":"A11271"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"porcelain","id":"AAT242297"},{"text":"gold","id":"AAT11021"}],"techniques":[{"text":"firing","id":"AAT53887"},{"text":"shaping","id":"AAT53098"},{"text":"gilding","id":"AAT53789"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Biscuit porcelain, with gilt metal mount","categories":[{"text":"Figures & Decorative ceramics","id":"THES48954"}],"styles":[{"text":"Art Nouveau","id":"AAT21430"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"CER","id":"THES48594"},"images":["2006BG2857","2007BM7289","2007BM5513","2006AN7212","2017JY7548"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"145 (VA)","id":"THES49865"},"free":"","case":"50","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"group","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"France","id":"x28849"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1750-1755","earliest":"1750-01-01","latest":"1755-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by J. H. Fitzhenry","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"29.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"27.9","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"20.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"This model has been identified from the Vincennes records as a figure of L'Heure du Berger, probably inspired by the engraving Le repos de Diane by Jean Pelletier (1736-?) after the painting by François Boucher. For the engraving see Pierrette Jean-Richard, L'oeuvre grave de Francois Boucher dans la Collection Edmond de Rothschild, 1978, pp. 350-351, no. 1454.  The Vincennes inventory of 1st October 1752 lists seventeen 'Groupes heures du Berger', priced at 40 livres each (Tamara Préaud and Antoine d'Albis, La Porcelaine de Vincennes, 1991, p. 169, no. 167). Other examples of the figure group are in (1) the Musée National de Céramique, Sèvres (illustrated in Tamara Préaud and Antoine d'Albis, La Porcelaine de Vincennes, 1991, p. 169, no. 167); (2) the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge,  EC.3-1944. Sold at Sotheby's London, The property of a Lady, 14th July 1944, lot 28 purchased by Friends of the Fitzwilliam. (3) the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1984-135-10).\r\n","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"<i>L'Heure du Berger</i> group, perhaps representing Zephyrus and Flora, although previously thought to be Venus and Adonis, biscuit porcelain with gilt metal mount,Vincennes manufactory, France, 1750-1755.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"Greenhalgh, Paul (Ed.), Art Nouveau: 1890-1914 . London: V&A Publications, 2000","id":"AUTH352192"},"details":"","free":""}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Zephyrus","id":"N1449"},{"text":"Flora","id":"N227"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["C.356-1909"],"accessionNumberNum":"356","accessionNumberPrefix":"C","accessionYear":1909,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LM5857","2019LP8422","2019LW2931"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-12","recordCreationDate":"2003-12-16","availableToBook":false}}