This is an extremely rare and stunning pair of Derby porcelain figures of Europa with the bull and Leda with the swan, made in about 1765. The figures are large and artistically very well made, and incredibly rare to come across.
The Derby Porcelain factory has its roots in the late 1740s, when Andrew Planché, a Walloon Huguenot refugee, started making simple porcelain toys shaped like animals in his back yard. In 1756 Staffordshire enameller William Duysbury and banker John Heath started a new porcelain factory with Planché and this was to grow out to the largest factory of its time, buying up the bankrupted Chelsea and Bow factories, as well as the stock of several other workshops including that of James Giles. The combination of various traditions, porcelain making skills and sophisticated clients enabled Duesbury to create one of the best porcelain factories of the 18th and 19th Centuries, which after many ups and downs is still operative today.
Represented here are Europa with the bull; we see her sitting with a young bull in her arms, a garland of colourful flowers around his neck. This is the story of the princess Europa, who was abducted by Zeus, disguised as a bull, while she was out playing with dolphins along the coast of the Levant. Zeus put her on his back and abducted her, swimming to his native island of Crete. The story is that this is how Europe received its name; an interesting fact is that the island of Crete looks a bit like a bull, and on Crete the animal is considered of mythical importance even today.
Leda has a large swan in her arms; the pair are lovingly looking into each others' eyes. Again we are in reality looking at Zeus, who loved disguising himself as different animals in order to seduce young ladies. Here he is working his charms on the beautiful young queen Leda. Zeus raped her and she bore Helen and Polydeuces. Not surprisingly, this story has always been popular in the arts because of its erotic undertones. Here Leda and the swan (Zeus) seem in a very loving and decent conversation - nothing to shock us.
These figures were used to adorn the dinner table when dessert was served; groups of figures could serve to express something about the host, the guests, or to direct the conversation. There were many series with particular themes, such as pastoral types and animals, musicians, the trades, Greek and Roman mythology and the Elements, Seasons or Virtues.
These figures are from a time when Derby made some very large figures of a high artistic quality, often portraying the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. They have an extraordinary sense of movement and liveliness. These two clearly belong together; the colours are exactly matching and their expressions similar. The swan seems to be wriggling around in Leda's arms, and the bull has a slightly sad and very sweet expression.
These figures are rare, particularly as an original pair.
The figures are unmarked but they do have the typical patch marks of that period. In the Derby factory list Europea is no. E52 and Leda is no. E58. Europa is shown in plate 93, page 111 of Peter Bradshaw's "Derby Porcelain Figures 1750-1848"; Leda is described on page 112 of the same book.
CONDITION REPORT: Both figures have had extensive restoration, as visible in the pictures. The restoration has been done tastefully but not to the highest standard; the render is a bit rough and visible. Leda has a firing crack through the bottom (this is a production fault, not damage). In spite of these flaws, the figures look bright and have not lost any of their beauty.
If desired we'd be very happy to arrange for the repairs to be redone to a higher standard, however this would take some time and it would come at an extra fee.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1700s, 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) Europa 27.5cm (10.5"); Leda 26.5cm (10.75").
