TWO STAFFORDSHIRE ASTBURY-TYPE EQUESTRIAN FIGURES OF HUSSARS CIRCA 1750

Mrs. John Scollay, Boston, Massachusetts;
Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 8, 1999, lot 637;
Jonathan Trace, Cortlandt Manor, New York.

Figure with the white hat: The horse has been broken through the legs just above the hooves and neatly restored; one leg has a second restored break at about midpoint; the tail has been off and restored back; one leg and stirrup of the soldier is a made-up restoration from the knee down; the end of the rifle is chipped away and there is a tiny minor chip to the tip of one of the horse's ears; the hilt of the sword is chipped away; there is a minor small flat chip to the edge of the base. The figure with the brown hat: The horse's tail has been off and neatly restored back; one ear is made up; there is some minor restoration to the braiding suspended from the soldier's shoulder and the strap over his right shoulder; the plume of his hat is restored; the end of the rifle is made up; the portion of the reins running through his left hand is restored; the hilt of the sword and the belt and stud of the scabbard are restored; the left stirrup is restored and a portion of the right stirrup at his foot has some restoration.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Mercy Greenleaf Scollay (1719-93) was the daughter of the Reverend Daniel Greenleaf and Elizabeth Gookin, born in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. She was married in March 1736 to John Scollay in Boston, where she lived until her death. In 1763 she was the subject of a portrait painted by John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), one of a pair of paintings of the couple commissioned by her husband, which is presently with the Driscoll Babcock Galleries, New York. The present lot is accompanied by a facsimile of a 19th century photograph of that painting, framed and hanging on a wall between the equestrian figures displayed on bracket shelves.

Two very similar equestrian figures, from the Collection of Nelson A. Rockefeller, were sold at Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, April 11, 1980, lot 79. Three examples modelled as cavalrymen wearing tricorn hats are illustrated in Leslie B. Grigsby, English Pottery 1650-1800, The Collection of Henry H. Weldon, p. 421, pl. 260.