Not currently on display at the V&A

Lady playing a guitar

Figurine
ca.1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Earthenware flatbacks and figurines for mantelpiece decoration were first produced in Staffordshire in the late 1830s. The earliest datable figures appear to be of Queen Victoria. Images of royalty proved a lucrative market and during the 1840s there were countless other royal figures issued by Staffordshire pottery firms, celebrating, for example, Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840, and the birth of the royal children. Production of earthenware figures continued throughout Victoria's lifetime, but although they were still made after her death in 1901, few appear to have been produced after 1905. During their heyday, however, they were produced in vast numbers, usually modelled after prints. Since they were produced in moulds, they were relatively cheap and easy to make. Figures of actors and actresses were especially popular.

Although most of these figurines represented contemporary people, some were made for their decorative qualities. This figurine has not been identified as a particular person. It may represent an actress in a role which called for her to play an instrument, or it may fall into the decorative but non-representational category of Staffordshire mantelpiece ornaments.



Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLady playing a guitar (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Moulded and glazed earthenware
Brief description
Figurine of a lady playing a guitar. Glazed earthenware, Staffordshire, ca.1850
Physical description
Figurine of a woman, modelled in the round, standing on a brown rococo-style base, playing a small guitar which she hold in her left hand and plays with her right. She has light brown hair covered by a pink head covering, the material of which flows down behind her back and loops over her right arm. She wears a royal blue bodice, decorated in gold, and a green skirt with maroon spots. She looks to her right. No markings.
Dimensions
  • Maximum height height: 16.8cm
  • Maximum height width: 8.5cm
  • Width of base width: 7.0cm
  • Depth of base depth: 7.0cm
Credit line
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996
Summary
Earthenware flatbacks and figurines for mantelpiece decoration were first produced in Staffordshire in the late 1830s. The earliest datable figures appear to be of Queen Victoria. Images of royalty proved a lucrative market and during the 1840s there were countless other royal figures issued by Staffordshire pottery firms, celebrating, for example, Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840, and the birth of the royal children. Production of earthenware figures continued throughout Victoria's lifetime, but although they were still made after her death in 1901, few appear to have been produced after 1905. During their heyday, however, they were produced in vast numbers, usually modelled after prints. Since they were produced in moulds, they were relatively cheap and easy to make. Figures of actors and actresses were especially popular.

Although most of these figurines represented contemporary people, some were made for their decorative qualities. This figurine has not been identified as a particular person. It may represent an actress in a role which called for her to play an instrument, or it may fall into the decorative but non-representational category of Staffordshire mantelpiece ornaments.

Collection
Accession number
S.1025-1996

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Record createdJune 23, 2006
Record URL
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