# Figure of Summer from the Four Seasons

- By: Bristol Porcelain Factory (British, 1770–81)
- Date: c. 1775
- Medium: hard-paste porcelain
- Classification: Ceramic
- Dimensions: Overall: 27 x 15.9 x 11.7 cm (10 5/8 x 6 1/4 x 4 5/8 in.)
- Culture: England, Bristol
- Credit line: Bequest of Mary Warden Harkness
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1917.611.3)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1917.611.3/1917.611.3_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

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 summer is portrayed as a young boy holding a sheaf of wheat as he leans against the beehive next to him. Both grain and honey have been associated with summer harvests and their accompanying festivals since antiquity.