Skip to main content
Collections Menu

Cherub with cornucopia

Professional Photography
Cherub with cornucopia
Professional Photography
Professional Photography
Status
On view
Label Text

The smooth surfaces of unglazed biscuit porcelain mimic the purity of classical sculpture and made it a fashionable choice for table ornaments in the second half of the eighteenth century. When set atop glittering, mirrored plateaux amid flowers and candelabra, such figures created a fantastic, mythical tableau. George Washington may have purchased this figure during the last weeks of his presidency for use in the "New Room" at Mount Vernon. Enjoying grapes from an overflowing cornucopia, the cherub alludes to the Bacchanalian pleasures of the table.

Read MoreRead Less
Date1789-1797
Geography Probably made - France
DimensionsOverall: 6 5/8 in. × 2 in. × 2 1/2 in. (16.83 cm × 5.08 cm × 6.35 cm)
Credit LineAcquired through the generosity of the Barra Foundation, 1983
Object numberW-2312
DescriptionBiscuit porcelain figure of a winged cherub; cherub stands in a contrapposto stance against a stump; a strap over his shoulder holds a quiver of arrows hung on his proper left side; with his left hand, he holds a cornucopia full of grapes and other fruit; with his right hand, he selects a piece of fruit; a grape leaf covers his genitalia.
Published ReferencesSusan Gray Detweiler, George Washington's Chinaware (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1982), 117 - 118.

Agnes Peter Mott, Peter Collection (Copy of a List Loaned by Miss Agnes Peter, May 1937) [PFL], bound photocopy, Curatorial File Room, no. 4.

Britannia Wellington Peter Kennon, Mrs. Kennon's Notebook [1899].

William Armstrong, "Some New Washington Relics. I. From the Collection of Mrs. B.W. Kennon," The Century Magazine 40/1 (May 1890): 21.
Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.
Estate Hours

Open today from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

iconDirections & Parking
buy tickets online & save