Harlequin and Columbine Dancing, Commedia Dell'arte, Bow Porcelain C1754

Il Dottore from the Commedia dell’Arte, in the white. He stands in an histrionic pose against a tree stump and wears a high brimmed hat (presumably a black academic bonnet), long-buttoned coat over frilled cuffs, falling jabeaux, breeches, boots and a cloak; his right hand on hip, his left arm and hand raised. Slightly grey-white porcelain; even, unctuous glaze. Straw translucency. Underside wiped; air hole at centre. Square hole at rear for mount. Measure: H 6.3 in (16 cm). Provenance: Taylor Collection, from Stockspring Antiques, London, 1998. The Miss G...

Scappino, or Scapin, a zany (zanni) character from the commedia dell'arte: a buffoon, schemer and scoundrel, and the title character in Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin, first staged in 1671. The Bow figure shows him standing to right against a tree stump, right leg forward; right arm concealed in a tabarro (cape), and a mask in his left hand. He wears a white doublet, gilt frogged in the Hungarian manner, neck ruff, pale yellow-washed breeches above buckled shoes; a pouch on a red-brown strap and a dagger in a scabbard at the waist. Low square plinth base washed in typical pale Bow ‘lettuce’ green. No discernible translucency. H. 5.0 in (12.6 cm). Provenance: Taylor Collection; Simon Spero London, 2008; the Faith and Dewayne Perry Collection. The Scapino figure was presumably based on the Meissen modelled 1743-45 by Peter Reinicke, assisted by Käendler, and from the series produced for Johann Adlf II, Duke of Weissenfels, after an engraving by Francois Joullain (1662-1753) for Riccobin’s Historie du Théatre Italien, 1728. The modelling and features of the Bow figure suggest the work of the ‘Muses Modeller’, and the pallete, gilding and detail are also those of the muses modeller figures. This figure illustrated Bradshaw, 1992, as circa 1753, Plate 10 (A12), p.64. Scapino is depicted musically in William...

From the Commedia dell’arte, shown seated on a tree stump and playing her favourite instrument. Probably after Kandler, who described the model as a Tyrolean maiden playing a lyre. ...

He wears a winged helmet and sandals, a loosely draped pink, white, and yellow washed cloak over a short tunic, and leans arrogantly against bales, his message sack over his left sho...

A very fine plate, damasked with Gotzkowsky erhaben Blumen. Decorated after the Japanese with peonies and a coiled phoenix to the centre, using the Kakiemo...

An attractive pair of lions, in the white; possibly based on a Chinese original.

A 19th century Meissen Porcelain Group of Commedia Dell"arte, harlequin and columbine dancing. This example depicts Harlequin dancing...

Very rare Commedia dell'Arte figure group from the 19th century: Harlequin and Columbine with child dancing in a circle: Harlequin in green jacket with golden buttons and white ruff...

Very rare 19th century Meissen porcelain group: Harlequin and Columbine seated side by side on a rock and teasing each other: Harlequin in brown playing card patterned jacket, pink striped trousers, black buckled shoes and mask fully covering his face, his left leg crossed over his right and his right hand with blue hat on Columbine's knee holding a sausage in his left raised hand, Columbine reaching for the mask with her left hand, raising a hand mirror with her right. The young woman is wearing a small feather hat, a fitted jacket with a red and blue diamond pattern, a long white skirt...

A stylish Murano commedia dell'arte clown style art glass figure designed by Italian Maestro glassmaker Franco Toffolo and dating from around 1960. Toff...

Piero Fornasetti set of four Porcelain Commedia Dell'arte Maschere Italiane Porcelain lates, Italian Masks, circa 1970s Each plate depicts a character from the Commedia Dell'ar...

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...