Not currently on display at the V&A

Don Armado

Figurine
ca.1880 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This figurine of Don Armado, one of a series of Shakespeare characters, was made in Paris by the company of Edmé Samson, a famous copyist of pottery and porcelain. Samson established his factory in Paris in 1845, producing pieces inspired by and copied from the work of famous factories, including Meissen, Sèvres, Chelsea, Derby and all the major factories of England, France and Germany, as well as tin-glazed earthenware or faience. He claimed to mark all pieces with his own double 'S' mark as well as the mark of the original piece, but in many cases his own mark is missing.

Don Armado is the Spanish knight in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost.



Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleDon Armado (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Glazed porcelain
Brief description
Figurine of Don Armado in Shakespeare's play Love's Labour's Lost, Samson & Company copy of a Crown Derby figure. French, late 19th century
Physical description
Figurine of Don Armado standing on a rococo-style base decorated with gold lines, wearing a royal blue doublet and hose with slashed decoration revealing a pink lining beneath, a blue breast-plate, a white ruff, a large hat, thigh-length boots and grey trousers. He is in a theatrical pose, as if about to bow, his right foot behind his left foot, his left hand to his chest, his right hand held out slightly behind him.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14.5cm
  • Maximum width width: 7.5cm
  • Of base depth: 5.5cm
  • Of base width: 5.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
'Armado' (Inscribed in black on the base in cursive script.)
Credit line
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996
Subject depicted
Literary referenceLove's Labour's Lost
Summary
This figurine of Don Armado, one of a series of Shakespeare characters, was made in Paris by the company of Edmé Samson, a famous copyist of pottery and porcelain. Samson established his factory in Paris in 1845, producing pieces inspired by and copied from the work of famous factories, including Meissen, Sèvres, Chelsea, Derby and all the major factories of England, France and Germany, as well as tin-glazed earthenware or faience. He claimed to mark all pieces with his own double 'S' mark as well as the mark of the original piece, but in many cases his own mark is missing.

Don Armado is the Spanish knight in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost.

Collection
Accession number
S.966-1996

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Record createdFebruary 27, 2006
Record URL
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