English and European Ceramics and Glass - 2nd May 2018

Lot 164

A pair of Derby figures of the Sailor and his lass c.1800

Estimate £400 - £600 | Hammer £400

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Description

A pair of Derby figures of the Sailor and his lass c.1800, he wearing a tricorn hat and customary wide-legged trousers, holding the King's shilling in his outstretched left hand, she beckoning him hither with her bare right hand, her glove held in her left, raised on pierced and scrolled bases, incised No. 316, small damages and restoration, 25.2cm. (2)

These models are believed to depict the actors Henry Woodward and Nancy Dawson, possibly as Black-Eyed Susan and Sweet William from John Gay's ballad featuring a sailor's farewell to his beloved.