Chinese musicians ca. 1755 Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory The large group now known as the Chinese Musicians represents one of the towering achievements of the modeler Joseph Willems (Flemish, 1715/16–1766) at Chelsea and indeed of the factory itself. Composed of four figures, one of which represents a child, the group is the largest and most complex of any produced at Chelsea or at any other eighteenth-century porcelain factory in England. Because of its scale and the number of figures, the group would have entailed a highly laborious process to model and to assemble, and to fire it successful

Chinese musicians ca. 1755 Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory The large group now known as the Chinese Musicians represents one of the towering achievements of the modeler Joseph Willems (Flemish, 1715/16–1766) at Chelsea and indeed of the factory itself. Composed of four figures, one of which represents a child, the group is the largest and most complex of any produced at Chelsea or at any other eighteenth-century porcelain factory in England. Because of its scale and the number of figures, the group would have entailed a highly laborious process to model and to assemble, and to fire it successfully would have presented additional challenges revealed in the small firing cracks and in the areas in which the enamel decoration appears slightly scorched. One other example of the Chinese Musicians exists,[1] and it is likely that very few were produced due not only to the difficulty of fabricating it but also to the high price at which it had to be Chelsea factory sale catalogue from April 1756 lists “A most magnificent LUSTRE in the Chinese taste, beautifully ornamented with flowers and a large groupe of Chinese figures playing on music,”[2] which must refer to this model. The term “lustre” indicates that it was made to serve as a lighting device, and the central openings in both surviving groups were probably created to accommodate a candelabrum, which likely was made of either porcelain, gilt bronze, or tole (painted tin or other metal). Willems composed the group without a primary vantage point, and it is clear that it is intended to be seen in the round, since there is equal visual interest from every perspective. It is likely that the group was made to decorate a dessert table, and, given the scale and elaborate composition, the Chinese Musicians must have served as the centerpiece. The ambitiousness of the composition is matched by the quality of the painted decoration, and the larger figures wear costumes decorated with patterns of unusual complexi

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