Art Saved

The Chelmsford Sissies (© Grayson Perry courtesy of the artist and the Victoria Miro gallery. Photo: Digital Photographic Services)
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© Grayson Perry courtesy of the artist and the Victoria Miro gallery. Photo: Digital Photographic Services

The Chelmsford Sissies (© Grayson Perry courtesy of the artist and the Victoria Miro gallery. Photo: Digital Photographic Services)

The Chelmsford Sissies

Artist: Grayson Perry (born 1960)

Location: Chelmsford Museum

Date: 2003

Materials: earthenware

Dimensions: height: 65cm; diameter: 39cm

Grant:

Amount Paid: £2,500 (Total: £8,000)

Vendor: Grayson Perry

Review number: 5373 (2004)

Provenance:
The artist.

Description:
The pot depicts a fictional transvestite festival in Chelmsford based on the real story of the Chelmsford Sissies. Sir Thomas Sissye was a Royalist who surrendered his band to Roundhead troops in 1648. As a humiliation Sissye and his men were forced to parade through Chelmsford wearing women's dress. Perry's alternative history is both wishful and celebratory. The transfer prints on the side refer to the expanding housing estates around the town.

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