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Conrad the Corsair: C.869-1984

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Conrad the Corsair
Edmund Kean as Richard III

Maker(s)

Production: Unidentified factory

Entities

Categories

Description

White earthenware moulded in three parts, with separately moulded arms and hat trim and small shards of clay added as decoration. Lead glazed. Painted underglaze in cobalt blue and with black, green, red, orange, yellow, pink and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt.

A man stands with left leg resting on an upper rock, his hand on his knee. His right hand holds a scroll. He looks away over his right shoulder. The figure is well coloured. He wears a short orange cape and a blue doublet over a white shirt, with pink and green striped shoulders. His breeches and the feathers in his hat are also pink and green, and he has a pink belt tied around his waist. His clothes are edged with gilt and his black boots have mustard-yellow tops. He has a moustache and long black hair. The ground is green and yellow with lightly combed dark pink touches; two of the tufts have pink flower centres. The base is shaped like a tear-drop; it has a gilt line across the front and on top it is moulded to form a rocky mound, with three applied tufts of foliage. The underside is concave and glazed, with a vent hole towards the back. The back is flat, decorated to the top and marked with diagonal scoring to the clay below.

Notes

History note: From the collection of the late Colonel R.G. Turner.

Legal notes

Given by Mrs J E Cameron, from the collection of the late Col R G Turner. 1984

Measurements and weight

Depth: 5.5 cm
Depth: 2.25 in
Height: 20.0 cm
Height: 7.875 in
Width: 8.9 cm
Width: 3.5 in

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1984) by Cameron, J.E., Mrs

Dating

19th Century, Mid#
Victorian
Circa 1850 CE - Circa 1870 CE

Note

An alternative source may be a performance by the English actor Edmund Kean (1789-1833) as Richard III, at the Brighton Theatre,c.1815. Pugh (1970) illustrates a 9 inch version which, whilst more elaborately modelled and decorated and in slightly more flamboyant pose, undoubtedly represents the same figure; this had been found with a paper label indicating its source was a print from the production. However, the original print has so far not been identified.

The flattened, partially coloured back and the use of underglaze cobalt blue indicate a date of c.1850-1870. There were many manufacturers of figures working in Staffordshire at this time, but there are no typical features here to suggest that the figure can be attributed to a particular factory.

This figure is almost certainly a literary or theatrical character. It has been thought to represent ‘Conrad’, the pirate chief hero of Byron’s poem ‘The Corsair' (first published in 1814), but no evidence has been found to support this attribution.

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels ( black, green, red, orange, yellow, pink and flesh-pink) underglaze cobalt-blue gold

Materials used in production

White earthenware
Lead-glaze

Techniques used in production

Press-moulding : White earthenware moulded in three parts, with separately moulded arms and hat trim and small shards of clay added as decoration. Lead glazed. Painted underglaze in cobalt blue and with black, green, red, orange, yellow, pink and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt. The underside is concave and glazed, with a vent hole towards the back. The back is flat, decorated to the top and marked with diagonal scoring to the clay below.
Painting
Lead-glazing
Gilding

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Rectangular paper label

  • Text: ‘Conrad or Byron’s corsair’
  • Location: Underside of base
  • Method of creation: Handwritten in blue ink
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.869-1984
Primary reference Number: 76252
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 18 December 2023 Last processed: Monday 18 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Conrad the Corsair" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76252 Accessed: 2024-03-29 12:54:36

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76252 |title=Conrad the Corsair |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-03-29 12:54:36|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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