POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Rococo style tureen from Delft

Object No. A4451

This is a Rococo style, tin-glazed earthenware (known as faience in Europe) covered tureen and stand decorated with entwined fish (Pike) made in Delft, Holland, in about 1750. Naturally modelled tableware in the form of fruit, vegetables, fish, birds and even animal heads was fashionable in the mid-1700s. Modelled with great skill, these eye-catching Rococo dishes sat well alongside similarly-shaped jellies and ices on the table. Light, asymmetrical and brilliantly decorative, the Rococo style emerged in France about 1700 as a reaction to the formal, heavy atmosphere of King Louis XIV's court. The solemnity of the Baroque style of the late 1600s gave way to informality, intimacy and the pursuit of pleasure. French émigré artisans helped disseminate the Rococo style throughout Europe between the 1730s and the 1760s. Nourished by a desire for fantasy, experiment and a keen interest in nature, the curved Rococo motifs such as 'rocaille' (fleshy scrolls), flowing water, fruit and plants decorated almost everything from silver, textiles and ceramics to gardens with bizarre grottoes and especially fabulous interiors.