Figure
Derby Porcelain Works
Category
Ceramics
Date
1765 - 1775
Materials
soft paste porcelain
Measurements
255 x 130 mm
Place of origin
Derby
Order this imageCollection
Saltram, Devon
NT 870988
Summary
Figure with two candle branches, soft paste porcelain and gilt metal, rococo base with shell moulding and four feet, the figure a seated shepherdess playing a guitar with a sheep standing to her right, a large flowering bocage support behind her, Derby Porcelain Factory, ca 1765-75; the scroll base is picked out in turquoise and gilding, the bocage with green coloured glaze and enamel, her skirt is painted with floral sprays in pink, her bodice turquoise, gilt metal nozzles and drip pans.
Full description
The figure was made as a pair, recorded in the Derby 1770 price list as 'Pair Pipe and Guitar Candlesticks.' "The Derby porcelain factory was originally established by Andre Planchet, the son of a Huguenot immigrant, who moved to Derby in around 1748. The factory’s small scale production was developed by William Duesbury after he partnered with Planchet and banker John Heath in 1756. Duesbury expanded the factory, creating a substantial output of soft-paste porcelain including both useful and decorative wares. These items included a variety of shapes and decorative styles, aimed at the high end of the market. By 1770, Duesbury was able to purchase the established Chelsea porcelain and Bow porcelain factories in London. He closed the Bow factory and ran the ‘Chelsea-Derby’ production until 1783 when production continued solely at Derby. His son, William Duesbury II continued to run the factory, entering a partnership with Michael Kean in 1795. Kean ran the factory until his death in 1811 when it was taken over by Robert Bloor. The factory closed two years after Bloor’s death in 1848. The majority of items at Saltram produced at the Derby factory date to the 1760s, the high point of Derby’s production. Decorative figures were an immensely popular element of the factory’s output and allowed Duesbury to cement the Derby factory’s reputation amongst the finest of English manufacturers during this time. "
Provenance
At Saltram by 1951 and accepted by HM Treasury in lieu of full payment of Estate Duty from the Executors of Edmund Robert Parker (1877-1951), 4th Earl of Morley and transferred to NT in 1957
Marks and inscriptions
Patch marks.
Makers and roles
Derby Porcelain Works, potter
References
John Twitchett, 1980, Derby Porcelain; Peter Bradshaw, 1990, Derby Porcelain Figures 1750-1848,, p.335