A Staffordshire pearlware Figure of Venus and Cupid, circa 1790-1800
This Staffordshire pearlware figure depicts Venus, the Roman goddess of love, standing on a mound with her left hand resting on a dolphin spouting water from its mouth. Beside her, Cupid holds his bow to his chest and clutches the folds in the drapery of his mother’s patterned classical robes. The square base is painted with a reddish-brown line.
A similar figure is in the collection of the British Museum (1938,0314.34.CR).
Condition: There is a restored chip to the front of the base. There are minor chips and nibbles to the edges of the base, and a tiny chip to a fold in the drapery. There is some retouching to the enamels on the dolphin, and the bird resting on the right hand of Venus may not be original to this figure as she is often holding Cupid’s quiver, although other Staffordshire models of Venus do depict her with a bird (cf. Victoria and Albert Museum, 3696-1901). The figure remains attractive and displays well.
Dimensions: Height 21.7 cm
People, Passions, Pastimes, and Pleasures: Staffordshire Figures 1810-1835, Myrna Schkolne (Hot Lane Press, 2006).
A Collector’s History of English Pottery, Griselda Lewis (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1987).
English Pottery and Porcelain, Geoffrey Wills (Guinness, 1969).
£50.00 (plus Postage & Packaging)