Bow Porcelain Figure, Musician with Flageolet and Tabor, circa 1760

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Bow Porcelain Figure, Musician with Flageolet and Tabor, circa 1760

About the Item

This is a wonderful figure of a musician made by the Bow Porcelain factory in circa 1760. The Bow Porcelain Factory was one of the first potteries in Britain to make soft paste porcelain, and most probably the very first to use bone ash, which later got perfected by Josiah Spode to what is now the universally used "bone china". Bow was the main competitor of the Chelsea Porcelain Factory, but where Chelsea made very Fine slipcast porcelain, Bow made a different soft paste porcelain that tended to be softer and could be pressed into moulds. Bow served a larger public generally at lower prices. The factory was only in operation between 1743 and 1774, after which the tradition got incorporated into some of the later famous potteries such as Worcester and Derby. This figure of a musician is probably from circa 1760, which was at the height of Bow's ability to make beautiful figurines often copied from Chelsea or Meissen. This figure is half of a unit called the "Idyllic Musicians", the woman playing a triangle. The porcelain is relatively translucent with a milky greyish glaze. The male musician, set against a half-length bocage and placed on a simple Rococo scroll, is playing a flageolet and a tabor, the cover of his tabor hanging off a tree branch. The musician wears brightly colored floral trousers, a lapis blue jacket and a purple and turquoise feathered hat. A picture of this figure can be found in Peter Bradshaw's book "Bow Porcelain Figures ca 1748-1774" in plate 147. The figure is unmarked, which is common for these figures. These figures were used to adorn the dinner table when dessert was served; groups of figures served to express something about the host, the guests, or to direct the conversation. Condition Report: The figure is in excellent condition and looks wonderful. There is no notable damage other than a few small chips off the bocage flowers. There are a few professional repairs, which are done so well that they are only visible under UV light; the feathers on the hat and a bite from the hat have been repaired; the flageolet and tabor have been replaced, and there is the odd repair to petals of the bocage. Other than this, the figure is perfect and all colors are bright and natural. Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account. There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Dimensions: height 20.5cm (8"), width 10cm (4"), depth 7.5cm (3").

Creator:
Bow Porcelain (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 4 in (10.16 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
Style:
Rococo (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1760-1769
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1760
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. In excellent condition with a few minor and invisible professional repairs.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: A-BOW051stDibs: LU4805118268812