Bust of Democritus
Bust
ca. 1780 (made)
ca. 1780 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Bust of Democritus or 'The Laughing Philosopher' in soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels and gilded. The bust stands on a spreading columnar base with plain torus mouldings picked out with gilding. He wears a green mantle over a white shirt and a brownish-red cap edged with gilding. The glaze is finely crazed and shows numerous pin-prick flaws.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels and gilded |
| Brief description | Bust of Democritus, enamelled and gilt soft-paste porcelain, William Duesbury & Co., Derby, ca. 1780 |
| Physical description | Bust of Democritus or 'The Laughing Philosopher' in soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels and gilded. The bust stands on a spreading columnar base with plain torus mouldings picked out with gilding. He wears a green mantle over a white shirt and a brownish-red cap edged with gilding. The glaze is finely crazed and shows numerous pin-prick flaws. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Production | The Derby factory lists show nos 159 and 160 as 'Pair, Laughing and crying Philosophers' (J. Haslem, Old Derby China, p. 173). The bust clearly derives from a model of Democritus by Johann Christian Ludwig Lücke (c 1703-1780), who executed a number of closely similar versions, one of which is in the Museum (A.201-1946) and is signed and dated 1747. Lücke is known to have worked as an ivory carver in England ca. 1760, but is not known as a modeller for any English porcelain manufactory, despite his continental experience in that capacity. |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic reference | Mallet, J.V.G.. Some Baroque sources of English ornamental porcelains A paper read at the weekend seminar Fire and Form – The Baroque and its influence on English Ceramics, c. 1660-1760, 26th-27th March 2011, published English Ceramics Circle, 2013, pp123-146. Illustrated fig. 37, 143p. 'Derby Bust of Democritus, soft-past porcelain, model-number 159 and a cross incised, c 1780-1800. Ht. 14.5cm.' |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.84-1948 |
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| Record created | August 14, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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