Figural Group, The Finding of Moses
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Object Label
Bertha Lum often found subject matter in the highly popular stories of Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904), an American writer living in Japan who adapted local legends and fairy tales for Western audiences. This woodcut illustrates the tragic story of Yuki-Anna, a wintry spirit who takes on human form in order to marry a young man she loves. When he betrays her secret identity, she transforms into snow and melts away forever.
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)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Maker
Modelled by
Title
Figural Group, The Finding of Moses
Date
1850–1860
Medium
Bisque porcelain
Classification
Dimensions
19 3/4 x 15 1/2 x 11 in. (50.2 x 39.4 x 27.9 cm)
Signatures
no signature
Inscriptions
no inscriptions
Markings
507 (?) in pencil on back of base; x incised on bottom of base.
Credit Line
Designated Purchase Fund
Accession Number
87.74
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Is there a specific reason this painting was placed behind the sculpture of Moses being found? The ancient Egyptians were polytheists and Jews and Christians monotheists, so they don't seem to fit.
The finding of Moses is set in ancient Egypt and in the 19th century, design went through a phase called "Egyptomania" when anything remotely connected to Egypt was seen as fashionable. This trend was partially stimulated by the growing number of artists traveling abroad to places like Egypt. Some artists used the story of Moses as a pretense for creating an "Egyptian" scene that was suitable for a moralistic Victorian home. Altogether, the impression would be one of exoticism, rather than historical accuracy.
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