Pair of Chinese Figures - Zhong Li-Quan and Han Xiang-Zi

Colorful birds on gilt bronze bases. Bellevue Ave Newport estate.

This is a wonderful pair of figures of Arlecchino and Columbina, made by the Bow Porcelain factory in about 1758. These figures formed part of a series of the Commedia dell'Arte, a very popular series of theatrical figures that served as decoration at the dinner table in the 18th Century. 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. 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. The Italian Commedia Dell'Arte, a comical form of masked theatre, was very popular in those days and Bow copied many figures of the German Meissen series that were brought out in the decades before. This pair dates from about 1758, which was at the height of Bow's ability to make beautiful figurines often copied from Chelsea or Meissen. The pair is modelled after a Meissen pair by Kaendler. The porcelain is translucent with a beautiful milky glaze - Bow was probably the first pottery using bone in its porcelain recipe. Arlecchino (Harlequin) is playing the bagpipes, dressed in an odd costume of mismatched chintz and playing cards and wearing a funny black trumpet...

Pair of very fine 19th century hand-painted porcelain figures.

Pair of Rococo style bisque porcelain female figures French, late 19th century One figure: Height 19cm, width 14cm, depth 10cm Other figure: Height...

This is a very charming pair of porcelain figures of a stag and a doe, probably cast by Derby in about 1760 and decorated by Bloor Derby in 1820. The figures are a simple white porce...

A magnificent pair of very large Meissen putti representing Day & Night by Heinrich Schwabe. Each figure wrapped in a cloth, float above the earth's atmo...

These two refined Orientalist figures represent a male and female in Eastern dress, each holding a ceramic water jug. The pair was modelled by British ceramic designer James Hadley, ...

She stands barefoot, wearing a long-sleeved robe in white, deep pink and washed pale yellow and partly edged with gold; a red and gilt-topped sceptre in her right hand, an outsize pe...

This is a fabulous pair of figures of Liberty and Matrimony made by the Bow Porcelain factory between 1760 and 1764. These figures were a popular pair portraying marriage. The bow...

This charming set comprises twelve decorated figures and figural groups that one might encounter on a stroll through an 18th century town. The set includes animals, musicians, dancer...