Figurine

In the 19th century, stars of the day were often celebrated in paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and ceramics. Small figurines of performers proved lucrative for ceramic firms like Chamberlain's Worcester Porcelain, the firm founded by Robert Chamberlain in 1783 which flourished until 1850 and which produced this figurine of Madam Vestris.

The actress, singer and theatre manager Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (1797-1865), was born in London Elizabeth Bartolozzi. Aged sixteen she married the dancer Armand Vestris and although they separated, she kept his name professionally. She could have specialised in opera but worked in burlesque and comedy, making her earliest success in an1820 burlesque or parody of Mozart's Don Giovanni called Giovanni In London. She made a name for herself in Paris and London, was famous for her 'breeches' roles, portraying men and revealing her well-shaped and much-praised legs, and made a huge hit with The Broom Girl! which she first sang at the Haymarket Theatre in 1826. She took over the Olympic Theatre in 1830, and after her marriage to Charles Matthews in 1838 managed Covent Garden and the Lyceum Theatres for some time.