18th century ceramic portrait bust by Ralph Wood (1748-1795) of Burslem in Staffordshire, England. Executed in pearlware with multicolor enamel overglaze
Ca. 1784.
Handel is depicted head and shoulders quarter turned left. He wears a long wig, shirt, jacket, and cloak.
168 x 140 mm. Three small paper identification labels to back from ca. 1956.
Several small chips including to tip of nose, eyebrows, and lips; some minor abrasions; hairline crack to right edge of cloak, just visible at right shoulder
Scarce. Copies are held in the Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum, London and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It seems that most known examples were intended to be mounted on a base, which the present example does not include.
"Ralph Wood (1748-1795) was the first large-scale manufacture of English earthenware figures, and his name resounds in the annals of the Staffordshire Potteries. His figures were prototypes that others emulated and modified for decades after his death. In developing a large range of models, this creative genius laid the foundation of an industry that thrived into the twentieth century." Schkolne: Ralph Wood: My Notebook (online)
Possibly executed to coincide with the Handel Commemoration of 1784.
Item #41180
Price: $650.00 other currencies