Pair of Derby figures, musical children, marked ‘9’ but actually ’10’, c. 1765

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Pair of small Derby figures of musical children, modelled standing, he with a flute, she with a hurdey-gurdey, on low rococo scroll moulded bases, picked out in soft tones of turquoise, purple & green. 

He incised ‘No 9’, 

Circa 1765

15cm high , bases 5.5cm

He: restored arm, she: restored arm & neck. 

ref. Bradshaw p174 .  

This pair of figures are clearly an original harmonious pair, with the same soft decoration & gilding. However, while the girl is unmarked, the boy has an inscribed factory ‘No 9’, indicating it should be figure number 9 in the figure lists ; it isn’t! Figure 9 is a pair of musical children, a ‘Boy & Girl with French Horn & Guitar’, clearly not this pair. The next on the list is number 10, ‘Boy & Girl with Flute & Hurdy-gurdy’, a perfect match for this pair. Bradshaw illustrates these models alongside his description of number 10, but notes “…the girl playing the hurdy-gurdy may not be the correct partner for the male flautist.’ . As these are an intact pair, it suggests that she is indeed the correct partner, but that confusingly, the repairer (the person who puts the pieces of clay together to make the piece) had a moment of confusion that day! 

 

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