This terracotta statuette represents Richard II (1367-1399) holding the crown which he was forced to give up to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, who became Henry IV. The white hart emblem that Richard adopted is shown on a chain around his neck. Richard succeeded to the throne when he was ten years old, on the death of his grandfather Edward III. Richard's father, known as the Black Prince, had died a year before Edward. William Shakespeare wrote his play Richard II around 1595 and this statuette may have been based on an actor who played the part of Richard in the early 1960s.

The statuette belonged to the actor Robert Eddison, whose collection contained a wealth of theatrical items including ceramic figurines of actors and actresses. Since Eddison himself did not play the role of Richard, the figure is not based on him. Like all statuette of this type, it would have been modelled in wet clay, built up on a metal frame or armature.

Potter Angela Gibson trained at Loughborough College where she was taught by David Leach, son of artist and potter Bernard Leach. She worked in Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire, specialising in terracotta figurines, and also made corn dollies.