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Figural Group, The Finding of Moses

Decorative Arts and Design

The Wedgwood company hired William Beattie, a well-known sculptor in his day, to design four Old Testament figural groups to be produced in unglazed porcelain that resembles marble. These production-line objects of less-costly material were intended for middle-class consumers who imitated the collecting habits of the more well-to-do. Although the biblical subject of this group is the finding of Moses along the of the Nile River by the pharaoh's daughter, the half-dressed figure of the maid allowed the artist and consumer to admire the partially nude female form within the sanctity of the parlor.

MEDIUM Bisque porcelain
DATES 1850-1860
DIMENSIONS 19 3/4 x 15 1/2 x 11 in. (50.2 x 39.4 x 27.9 cm)  (show scale)
MARKINGS 507 (?) in pencil on back of base; x incised on bottom of base.
SIGNATURE no signature
INSCRIPTIONS no inscriptions
ACCESSION NUMBER 87.74
CREDIT LINE Designated Purchase Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Wedgwood and Sons (British, Staffordshire, 1759–present). Figural Group, The Finding of Moses, 1850-1860. Bisque porcelain, 19 3/4 x 15 1/2 x 11 in. (50.2 x 39.4 x 27.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 87.74. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.74_bw.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 87.74_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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Wedgwood and Sons (British, Staffordshire, 1759–present). <em>Figural Group, The Finding of Moses</em>, 1850-1860. Bisque porcelain, 19 3/4 x 15 1/2 x 11 in. (50.2 x 39.4 x 27.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 87.74. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.74_bw.jpg)

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