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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 dominance. Here, 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. This depiction of America reveals a purely imagined understanding of faraway places.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
97958
label
Figure of Europe and America from the Four Continents
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
97958
contentType
object
title
Figure of Europe and America 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 dominance. Here, 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. This depiction of America reveals a purely imagined understanding of faraway places.
date
c. 1760
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60760972
creators
18265
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 24.6 x 18.9 x 16.9 cm (9 11/16 x 7 7/16 x 6 5/8 in.)
cul
England, Chelsea, mid-18th century
accession
1917.601.1
Source extras
tec
soft-paste porcelain
tombstone
Figure of Europe and America from the Four Continents, c. 1760. Chelsea Porcelain Factory (Britain, London, 1745–84). Soft-paste porcelain; overall: 24.6 x 18.9 x 16.9 cm (9 11/16 x 7 7/16 x 6 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness, 1917.601.1
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
1
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 05:17:12.967000
sourceId
97958
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
b7a48972598a6851