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Source Description
Often collected by wealthy British merchants who were beneficiaries of colonial expansion, figural groups were frequently part of elaborate table decorations meant to signify wealth and global prominence. In one pair, Europe is seen holding an orb and wearing a crown as queen of the world, suggesting Europe’s supremacy over the other continents. She is entangled with America, who is wearing feathers with a bow and arrow at her feet. Africa, who wears an elephant headdress and holds a scorpion in one hand, wrestles with Asia, who is surrounded by perfumes and native fruits. Today we recognize these depictions of America, Africa, and Asia as racial stereotypes, revealing a purely imagined understanding of other cultures and continents at the time.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
97957
label
Pairs of Figures from the Four Continents
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
97957
contentType
object
title
Pairs of Figures from the Four Continents
description
Often collected by wealthy British merchants who were beneficiaries of colonial expansion, figural groups were frequently part of elaborate table decorations meant to signify wealth and global prominence. In one pair, Europe is seen holding an orb and wearing a crown as queen of the world, suggesting Europe’s supremacy over the other continents. She is entangled with America, who is wearing feathers with a bow and arrow at her feet. Africa, who wears an elephant headdress and holds a scorpion in one hand, wrestles with Asia, who is surrounded by perfumes and native fruits. Today we recognize these depictions of America, Africa, and Asia as racial stereotypes, revealing a purely imagined understanding of other cultures and continents at the time.
date
c. 1760
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60760667
creators
18265
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Part 1: 24.6 x 18.9 x 16.9 cm (9 11/16 x 7 7/16 x 6 5/8 in.); Part 2: 23.5 x 17.6 x 18.7 cm (9 1/4 x 6 15/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
cul
England, Chelsea, mid-18th century
accession
1917.601
Source extras
tec
soft-paste porcelain
tombstone
Pairs of Figures from the Four Continents, c. 1760. Chelsea Porcelain Factory (Britain, London, 1745–84). Soft-paste porcelain; part 1: 24.6 x 18.9 x 16.9 cm (9 11/16 x 7 7/16 x 6 5/8 in.); part 2: 23.5 x 17.6 x 18.7 cm (9 1/4 x 6 15/16 x 7 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness, 1917.601
collection
Decorative Arts
didYouKnow
Figural representations of the four continents date back to the 1500s, but such imagery became even more popular in the 1700s as European empires expanded.
citations
citation
"Bequest of Mrs. Charles W. Harkness." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 4, no. 4 (1917): 63.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 63
citation
F. A. W. "The Bequests of Mary Warden Harkness: A Tribute and an Accounting." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>15, no. 2 (February 1928): 43-50.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 43
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25137106
creditline
Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:17:05.573000
sourceId
97957
dept
Decorative Art and Design
coll
Decorative Arts
med
soft-paste porcelain
creatorTags
gender unknown
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e1809d36b4b0caf4