Figure of Winter from the Four Seasons

c. 1775

Figure of Winter from the Four Seasons, c. 1775. Bristol Porcelain Factory (British, 1770–81). Hard-paste porcelain; overall: 27.2 x 13 x 11.5 cm (10 11/16 x 5 1/8 x 4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness 1917.611.4 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 winter is portrayed as a young boy wearing ice skates, a fur-lined jacket, and a hat adorned with holly branches. In his satchel he carries a goose and rabbit, both of which are commonly hunted in the winter. Allegorical figures most often decorated a table during the dessert course, providing amusing subjects for conversation.