Figure of Autumn from the Four Seasons

c. 1775

Figure of Autumn from the Four Seasons, c. 1775. Bristol Porcelain Factory (British, 1770–81). Hard-paste porcelain; overall: 28.4 x 16.2 x 13.7 cm (11 3/16 x 6 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness 1917.611.1 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 autumn is portrayed as a young girl playfully jostling her overskirt as she balances a basket of fruit against her hip. The grapes, plums, and apples filling her basket allude to a plentiful fall harvest. Allegorical figures most often decorated a table during the dessert course, providing amusing subjects for conversation.