A monumental, fully modelled figure of extraordinary quality depicting Jesus Christ at the column.
This incredible figure shows Christ before the crucifixion. He wears nothing but a purple loincloth, His hands bound behind his back, standing on an elegantly modelled, gilded and decorated purple and gold base and a colourful patterned column.
The quality of decoration and modelling of this figure is simply incomparable among Staffordshire figures of this period. The modelling and definition of Christ’s hair, face, and body are precise and unusually lifelike. The colouring of flesh and face is muted and natural, and the decoration of the base and column is lavish, rich, and sumptuous. Considered together, for a figure of such great scale, this is a remarkable achievement. This piece is truly a masterwork of Staffordshire figural pottery - in my humble view, among the very greatest figures ever produced in the Victorian period.
That the figure displays well goes entirely without saying, and the figure is offered in generally very good condition, though I note the following flaws. There is a small chip on the front of the gilt, purple and yellow base, in the yellow section near the bottom - this is not easy to spot because of the texture of the colouring, but is noticeable at close examination. There are some other small nibbles around the base - none significant but they should be noted in any case. The tip of the flowing purple loincloth is chipped but this is concealed as it has been painted purple to match the rest of the model leaving only exposed clay on the underside of the chip which is not visible when the figure is displayed - I believe that this is relatively recent damage rather than a flaw from the time of production. Nevertheless, it has been reasonably well obscured. There are some small spots of enamel flaking, most notably in Christ’s hair. Crazing is relatively dark and heavy, most easily seen across the pale flesh-colour of Christ’s body.
Please examine the images closely for a sense of these imperfections.
Reference: Stephen Duckworth, Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Religious Figures, p. 117, fig. B.43a
Height: 16.75”
Date: c. 1860s
Provenance: The Stephen Duckworth Collection
A monumental, fully modelled figure of extraordinary quality depicting Jesus Christ at the column.
This incredible figure shows Christ before the crucifixion. He wears nothing but a purple loincloth, His hands bound behind his back, standing on an elegantly modelled, gilded and decorated purple and gold base and a colourful patterned column.
The quality of decoration and modelling of this figure is simply incomparable among Staffordshire figures of this period. The modelling and definition of Christ’s hair, face, and body are precise and unusually lifelike. The colouring of flesh and face is muted and natural, and the decoration of the base and column is lavish, rich, and sumptuous. Considered together, for a figure of such great scale, this is a remarkable achievement. This piece is truly a masterwork of Staffordshire figural pottery - in my humble view, among the very greatest figures ever produced in the Victorian period.
That the figure displays well goes entirely without saying, and the figure is offered in generally very good condition, though I note the following flaws. There is a small chip on the front of the gilt, purple and yellow base, in the yellow section near the bottom - this is not easy to spot because of the texture of the colouring, but is noticeable at close examination. There are some other small nibbles around the base - none significant but they should be noted in any case. The tip of the flowing purple loincloth is chipped but this is concealed as it has been painted purple to match the rest of the model leaving only exposed clay on the underside of the chip which is not visible when the figure is displayed - I believe that this is relatively recent damage rather than a flaw from the time of production. Nevertheless, it has been reasonably well obscured. There are some small spots of enamel flaking, most notably in Christ’s hair. Crazing is relatively dark and heavy, most easily seen across the pale flesh-colour of Christ’s body.
Please examine the images closely for a sense of these imperfections.
Reference: Stephen Duckworth, Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Religious Figures, p. 117, fig. B.43a
Height: 16.75”
Date: c. 1860s
Provenance: The Stephen Duckworth Collection
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