- 714
A PAIR OF ST. JAMES (CHARLES GOUYN FACTORY) WHITE PORCELAIN FIGURES OF A HURDY-GURDY PLAYER AND A DANCING GIRL, CIRCA 1750 |
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
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Description
- he 15.5cm., 6 1/8 in. high, she 14.7cm., 5 3/4 in. high
standing before tree stumps, he wearing a feathered hat, his hair en-queue, holding the instrument in both hands, she in dancing pose holding up the corners of her apron, her skirt with a fringed hem, upon small rectangular bases,
Provenance
With Winifred Williams, London by 1972;
A Private collection, Melbourne, sold Christie's London, 7th June 1994, lot 63;
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
A Private collection, Melbourne, sold Christie's London, 7th June 1994, lot 63;
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
Exhibited
London, Winifred Williams, Eighteenth Century European White Porcelain, June 1975, no. 28;
Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, Flowers and Fables, A Survey of Chelsea Porcelain 1745-69, November 1984 - February 1985, no. 194.
Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, Flowers and Fables, A Survey of Chelsea Porcelain 1745-69, November 1984 - February 1985, no. 194.
Literature
Notable Works of Art Now on the market: Supplement, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 114, No. 831, June 1972, pl. LVII;
Apollo, the Magazine of the Arts, June 1975, p. 108;
Winifred Williams, Eighteenth Century European White Porcelain, exh. cat., London, 1975, p. 28;
Peter Bradshaw, 18th century English porcelain figures 1745-1795, Suffolk, 1981, p. 131, pl. 53;
Margaret Legge, Flowers and Fables, A Survey of Chelsea Porcelain 1745-69, exh. cat., National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1984, p. 84, no. 194
RELATED LITERATURE
Aileen Dawson, Rare and Documentary 18th Century English Porcelain from the British Museum, London, International Ceramics Fair and Seminar, 1987;
Errol Manners 'A Documentary 'Girl-in-a-Swing' Seal and other considerations on the porcelain of Charles Gouyn's factory', English Ceramic Circle Transactions, Vol. 18, Part 3, 2004.
Apollo, the Magazine of the Arts, June 1975, p. 108;
Winifred Williams, Eighteenth Century European White Porcelain, exh. cat., London, 1975, p. 28;
Peter Bradshaw, 18th century English porcelain figures 1745-1795, Suffolk, 1981, p. 131, pl. 53;
Margaret Legge, Flowers and Fables, A Survey of Chelsea Porcelain 1745-69, exh. cat., National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1984, p. 84, no. 194
RELATED LITERATURE
Aileen Dawson, Rare and Documentary 18th Century English Porcelain from the British Museum, London, International Ceramics Fair and Seminar, 1987;
Errol Manners 'A Documentary 'Girl-in-a-Swing' Seal and other considerations on the porcelain of Charles Gouyn's factory', English Ceramic Circle Transactions, Vol. 18, Part 3, 2004.
Condition
The female figure has old repair to her waist, which was already visible in the 1972 Burlington Magazine illustration. The figure also has professional restoration at her finger tips and the upper edges of her skirt. The male figure in very good condition and appearance, no condition issues noted.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Porcelain figures of this distinctive naive modelling were traditionally catalogued under the collective term 'Girl-in-a-Swing', named so after the well-known figure gifted by Lt.-Col. K. Dingwall in the Victoria and Albert museum, London (mus. no. C.587-1922). Porcelain scholars had long suspected the group was linked to the French Huguenot Charles Gouyn, and this was finally confirmed through the paper read by Bernard Dragesco 'English Ceramics in French Archives - the writings of Jean Helliot, the adventures of Jacques Louis Brolliet and the Identification of the 'Girl-in-a-Swing' factory', London, June 1993.
Gouyn was a born in Dieppe and by 1736 was established in London as a jeweller in Bennet Street, St. James. He was briefly involved with Nicholas Sprimont's porcelain factory at Chelsea though he parted ways in about 1747/48 to begin his rival enterprise in St. James, where porcelain production seems likely to have lasted until about 1760. Contemporary models of a hurdy-gurdy player and a dancing girl were produced at the Chelsea factory during the red-anchor period after Meissen originals.1 Early St. James figure are exceptionally rare, one other pair of these figures in the white, also gifted by Lt.-Col. K. Dingwall, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London;2 a pair painted in enamels in the Wallace Elliot Bequest is in the British Museum, London;3 and a further example of the Dancing girl in enamels, from the Property of Mrs. Doris Roper was sold in these rooms, 7th May 1968, lot 171.
1. See Errol Manners, op. cit., pp. 399-401.
2. mus. nos. C.328-1919 and 1920, William King, Chelsea Porcelain, London, 1922, pl. 11, fig. 2.
3. mus. nos. 1938,0314.89 and 90 CR, Wallace Elliot, 'Worcester Porcelain Figures', E.C.C. Trans., Vol. 2, 1934, pl. XVII; Arthur Lane, English Porcelain Figures of the 18th Century, London, 1961, pl. 31B; Elizabeth Adams, Chelsea Porcelain, London, 2001, p. 43, fig. 51.
Gouyn was a born in Dieppe and by 1736 was established in London as a jeweller in Bennet Street, St. James. He was briefly involved with Nicholas Sprimont's porcelain factory at Chelsea though he parted ways in about 1747/48 to begin his rival enterprise in St. James, where porcelain production seems likely to have lasted until about 1760. Contemporary models of a hurdy-gurdy player and a dancing girl were produced at the Chelsea factory during the red-anchor period after Meissen originals.1 Early St. James figure are exceptionally rare, one other pair of these figures in the white, also gifted by Lt.-Col. K. Dingwall, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London;2 a pair painted in enamels in the Wallace Elliot Bequest is in the British Museum, London;3 and a further example of the Dancing girl in enamels, from the Property of Mrs. Doris Roper was sold in these rooms, 7th May 1968, lot 171.
1. See Errol Manners, op. cit., pp. 399-401.
2. mus. nos. C.328-1919 and 1920, William King, Chelsea Porcelain, London, 1922, pl. 11, fig. 2.
3. mus. nos. 1938,0314.89 and 90 CR, Wallace Elliot, 'Worcester Porcelain Figures', E.C.C. Trans., Vol. 2, 1934, pl. XVII; Arthur Lane, English Porcelain Figures of the 18th Century, London, 1961, pl. 31B; Elizabeth Adams, Chelsea Porcelain, London, 2001, p. 43, fig. 51.