Mansion House Dwarf: C.24-1996

Titles

Mansion House Dwarf

Maker(s)

Factory: Derby Porcelain Factory
Proprietor: Robert Bloor & Co.

Entities

• Figure

Categories

• Soft-paste porcelain

Description

Soft-paste porcelain figure of a dwarf wearing a tall hat, painted in polychrome enamels and gilt.

Soft-paste porcelain figure of a dwarf, slip-cast, and painted overglaze in dark blue, turquoise-blue, shades of green, yellow, orange, pink, red, pale and dark mauve, brown, and black enamels, and gilt. The dwarf stands on a roughly circular low mound base with two groups of applied flowers and leaves. He has his right hand on his hip and his left holds a staff. He wears a tall funnel-shaped hat with a sheet of advertisements on the front, encircled below by a draped ribbon with a bow on one side and a group of leaves on the other, beside which two quill pens are passed under the ribbon. His jacket has playing cards on the sides and sleeves, multi-colour triangles down the front and on the back, three small beakers and a large beaker, a sword crossed with a pistol, two dice, two, rings, and a ? key. Attached to the shoulders are short blue ribbons. His trunk hose are striped in green and red, and there are dark mauve bows on the front of his black shoes. He has a handle-bar mustaches and wears earrings.

Notes

History note: Unknown before donor

Legal notes

Given by Philip McClean

Place(s) associated

• Derby ⪼ Derbyshire ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1996-07-15) by McClean, Philip

Dating

19th Century, Early#
George III
George IV
Bloor Period
Circa 1811 - 1820

Note

The dwarves were derived from etchings by Jacques Callot in the series entitled 'Varie figure gobbi di Jacopo Callot', executed in Florence in 1616, and published in 1622. This model, was derived from L'homme au ventre tombant, et a chapeau très élèvé, see See Lieure, 1927, An example is in the Fitzwilliam Museum Print Room (24.I.9.762). The model had been produced earlier at Meissen, Mennecy, and Chelsea. The prints do not feature the notices pinned to the dwarves' hats, which appear on some of the later Derby models.

This is a late example of this model, indicated by the garish colouring

This model and its companion were described as 'Pair of Grotesque Punches' in Haslem's 'Price List of Groups and Single Figures' made at Derby, see Documentation 1876.