Theater in porcelain

Magazine Antiques, Oct, 2001 by Allison Eckardt Ledes

In her article in this issue, Gloria Deak, delves into the history of the theater in New York City particularly as it relates to Fanny Kemble, who stormed the stage to rave reviews in the early nineteenth century Theater has provided live entertainment since ancient times, but the improvised form of theater known as the commedia dell'arte was also immortalized in porcelain during the eighteenth century throughout Europe. The stock figures who were the subject of the commedia dell'arte plays as rendered in porcelain are the subject of an exhibition entitled Harlequin Unmasked Comedy Transformed, which is on view at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto through January 20, 2002. The show includes more than one hundred porcelain figures produced by distinguished factories throughout Europe and in England.

The curator of the exhibition, Meredith Chilton, has located twenty-five rare eighteenth-century theater and masquerade costumes in the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Italy which have been included to bring to life the vividly colored costumes painted on the porcelain figures. Props and related artifacts, such as musical instruments, period masks, hats and shoes, and books and engravings, exhibit how the com-media dell'arte influenced dress, dining, and entertainment in the period.

Commedia dell'arte began as comical street theater in Italy in the sixteenth century Central characters such as Arlecchino (Harlequin), Pantalone (Pantaloon), Pulchinello (Pierrot), and Columbina (Columbine) were recognizable throughout Europe because traveling troupes of Italian actors performed before members of the royal courts of Europe, and the fad for this entertainment spread quickly and widely Jabs at social and political goings-on were a part of the performance, as were acrobatic feats and buffoonery. The pace was fast and the messages were pointed.

In the eighteenth century these flamboyant porcelain figures were frequently combined with sugar sculptures to create a miniature theatrical presentation in the center of a dining table. Are-creation of this type of table decoration is featured in the exhibition.

The catalogue of the exhibition, written by Meredith Chilton, is published by Yale University Press.