Figural Group, The Finding of Moses

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.