Ceramics and Pottery Arts and Resources

 

 

Harlequin by Emin Guliyev

 

The circus through the ages

 

Around 500BC, the first Etruscan king of Rome introduced games from Etruria into the Roman Republic at an open air venue called the Circus Maximus (Great Circus), which eventually had a seated capacity for approximately 150,000 spectators. These organized spectacles for the masses included chariot racing, gladiators and sports events. It is recorded that in the 2nd century BC, dancers, scenic artists and flute players were featured along with the use of over 100 wild animals including leopards, elephants and bears in venatio productions. (animal hunting) This circus was U shaped, and similar ones were constructed throughout Europe, (the Hippodrome in Constantinople), for chariot racing and other events.
The modern circus, as we know today, was first conceived in 1768 in London, by Philip Astley, where equestrian feats and bareback acrobatics were performed in a wooden amphitheater featuring a circular arena. The circus ring was used because it allowed audiences to keep sight of the riders during their performances and riding in circles made it possible, through the generation of centrifugal force, for riders to keep their balance while performing their tricks. By 1770, acrobats, rope-dancers, and jugglers were also added to the show and eventually exotic animals were introduced. Astley opened the first circus in Paris, the Amphithéâtre Anglois, in 1782.
In 1793, British equestrian John Bill Ricketts opened the first circus in the United States, in Philadelphia, while Charles Hughes, a former member of Astleys company, performed in the court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia.

 

 

Girl on a circus horse – Tiifany & Co , NY

 

In 1825 in America, Joshuah Purdy Brown became the first circus entrepreneur to replace the usual wooden construction with a full canvas tent, to allow more mobility and penetration into the rapidly developing new cities in the USA. Circus entrepreneurs Phineas Barnum and William Coup were the first to use rail for transporting their circus, along with the multiple ring circus tent, to increase the capacity. They also introduced the sideshow with more freakish acts and museum oddities.
The circus developed into essentially a visual performing art which was unfettered by language barriers. As a result, it was easily exportable to countries and in 1853 Italian Giuseppe Chiarini took his circus on a world tour. Likewise, the French equestrian Louis Soullier, took his Vienna Circus on a tour of the Balkans and Turkey, then want on to China, where he introduced the circus in 1854. On his return to Europe in 1866, he brought with him Chinese acrobats, who in turn introduced traditional Chinese acts such as perch-pole balancing, diabolo-juggling, plate-spinning and hoop-diving to Western audiences.
The striking visual elements of the circus acts have provided a rich tapestry for interpretation in the arts and most of the details and action from this colorful tradition have been vividly reproduced.

 

 

 Porcelain circus clown – ebay

 

 

 

 “Elephants – The Wonder of the Circus” – Artist Franklin Moody for Porcelaine Ariel

1981

 

 

Gabor Jeno (1893-1968) ‘Acrobats’, 1933

 

 

 ” Clowns – The Heart of the Circus” – Artist Franklin Moody for Porcelaine Ariel

1981

 

 

 Circus sideshow art

 

 

 

 Clown waltz

 

 

 

 Silver juggling clown figurine – Tiffany

 

 

 Clown and horse figurine – Tiffany & Co

 

 

 

 Art Deco Clown Decanter –  Goebel

1930’s

 

 

 

 Sideshow spruiker – Circus Chimera

Photographer Norma I. Quintana from the book Circus: A Traveling Life

 

 

 

 A leaping lioness with Warren Lennon

Lennon Bros Circus ( est. 1893 ) is one of only two circuses left in Australia with big cats in the program. The three lions at Lennon’s are now 9 years of age: two females and one male from different litters. They were born and bred in the circus, and are the 12th generation born and bred in Australia.

 

 

 

 Barnum & Bailey poster

 

 

 

 Vintage midget clown photo

 

 

 

Acrobats at the Chinese National Circus

 

 

 

Circus Scenes Vase – Anna Culliton from the series ” Miss Molly’s Ceramic Circus “

glazed earthenware – 2010

 

 

 

 Circus Tiger Balancing on a Ball – Tiffany & Co

 

 

 

 Circus dog riding horse – Andree Richmond

 

 

 

 Circus clowns on horse –  Anna Plonka

 

 

 Italian Art Deco circus clown – Lenci

 

 

 

 37th Monte Carlo circus festival poster

 

 

 

Larisa Churkina – Strongman and acrobat sculpture

 

 

 

French style circus figurines

AuntHattiesAttic – etsy

 

 

Marc Chagall – le cirque bleu

 

 

 

PIERROT Clown Porcelain Figurines –  Bing & Grondahl (B&G)

 

 

 

 Circus in France painting by Frederick Arthur Bridgman

1869-1870

 

 

 

 Noritake Porcelain Art Deco Lustre Trinket Dish Ashtray pierrette Clown Figurine

 

 

 

 California Pottery lidded clown jar

 

 

 

 Franklin Moody – Circus Aerialists

 

 

 

 Circus Strongman -etsy

 

 

 

 Circus Clown on a Horse – Ann Plonka

 

 

 Circus contortion girl sculpture –  Maria-Paterson

 

 

 

 Vase decorated with circus performers – Micheal Kay

 

 

 

Circus training at a young age

 

 

‘The Circus’, Marc Chagall

1964

 

 Circus acrobat on elephant trunk

 

 

 

Figurine of a clown playing a squeezebox-Matt Prince

 

 

 

 French pierrot clown figurine

 

 

Balancing Act, 1962, Harry Ransom Center – Vintage photo of a seal balancing a doll

Krone Circus in Aachen, Germany

 

 

 Elephant with a tuba trunk figurine

Waylande Gregory?

 

 

 

Ceramic tile ‘Circus’ – Polia Pillin

 

 

Ceramic statue  ‘Its circus time’  by Sandra Oropeza

 

 

 

Art Deco ‘Flame Leaper’ – Johann Philipp Ferdinand Preiss

 

 

Ringling Bros. Circus – Nina Leen

1949

 

 

 Bronze Jester – Josef Lorenz

 

 

 

‘Clown on the Moon’ –  Limoges Hand Painted Box,

 

 

 

 Porcelain clown bust – Lladro

 

 

 

 Girl riding a horse – Michael Kay

 

 

 

   Ringling Brothers circus elephant descending from the carriage of a train on the railway in the Bronx, in New York, April 1, 1963.

AP photo – Paul Rice

 

 

 

 Porcelain figurine from Sergey Orlov sculpture

 

 

 

 Ceramic creamer – Strangl Pottery

 

 

 

 Circus acrobats from Tiffany & Co , NY

 

 

 

 Porcelain pierrot candy bowl

 

 

 

 Movie “Water For Elephants” – Fox

 

 

 Painted terracotta “Clowns on Unicycles,”  Waylande Gregory

circa 1932

 

 

 

Trapeze Photo – Gaston Paris

Roger Viollet

 

 

Circus clowns

 

 

 

Elephantgirl

 

 

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