Plate

Nicholas Sprimont, a Huguenot goldsmith, ran the Chelsea porcelain factory, supported financially by the diplomat Sir Everard Fawkener. He was born in Liège, a French-speaking part of Flanders, and was trained as a silversmith. His skill as a modeller and designer is reflected in many of the factory's early productions. A wide range of influences inspired Chelsea wares including designs found on French, German and Oriental porcelains. Chelsea porcelain was aimed at an aristocratic, wealthy clientele.

This soft-paste porcelain plate is painted in colours with a scene from one of Hubert-François Gravelot's engravings depicting children's games and pastimes. The print is entitled 'Le Jeu de l'Arbaleste' and shows a group of boys, two with bows and arrows, as they attempt to hit a tricorn hat hanging from a branch of a tree. The design on the plate only reproduces the central part of Gravelot's print, leaving out a boy sitting on the ground with outstretched arms. The lower part of the scene on the plate has a rococo scroll with the edge of the plate decorated with leaves and flowers. The back of the plate is marked with a red anchor.