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Source Description
The modern notion of childhood as a time of innocence and simplicity emerged during the second half of the eighteenth century. This understanding of adolescence led to numerous depictions of children as personifications of the four seasons. Here summer is portrayed as a young boy holding a sheaf of wheat as he leans against the beehive next to him. Both grain and honey have been associated with summer harvests and their accompanying festivals since antiquity.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
97974
label
Figure of Summer from the Four Seasons
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
97974
contentType
object
title
Figure of Summer from the Four Seasons
description
The modern notion of childhood as a time of innocence and simplicity emerged during the second half of the eighteenth century. This understanding of adolescence led to numerous depictions of children as personifications of the four seasons. Here summer is portrayed as a young boy holding a sheaf of wheat as he leans against the beehive next to him. Both grain and honey have been associated with summer harvests and their accompanying festivals since antiquity.
date
c. 1775
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60755954
creators
14385
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 27 x 15.9 x 11.7 cm (10 5/8 x 6 1/4 x 4 5/8 in.)
cul
England, Bristol
accession
1917.611.3
Source extras
tec
hard-paste porcelain
tombstone
Figure of Summer from the Four Seasons, c. 1775. Bristol Porcelain Factory (British, 1770–81). Hard-paste porcelain; overall: 27 x 15.9 x 11.7 cm (10 5/8 x 6 1/4 x 4 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness, 1917.611.3
collection
Decorative Arts
formerAccessionNumbers
1917.613
didYouKnow
Allegorical figures most often decorated a table during the dessert course, providing amusing subjects for conversation.
citations
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 11
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 10
citation
"European Porcelains Bequeathed by Mary Warden Harkness." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>15, no. 2 part II (February 1928): 57-59
page_number
Reproduced: p. 58
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned: cat. 267
creditline
Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:17:17.700000
sourceId
97974
dept
Decorative Art and Design
coll
Decorative Arts
med
hard-paste porcelain
creatorTags
gender unknown
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5639fca2f55b59d5