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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we welcome any additional information you might have.
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.
