Figure of Pantaloon
ca. 1760 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Pantaloon, a rich Venetian merchant, is the tight-fisted father of Isabella, one of the main romantic heroines of the Italian comic theatre or 'Commedia dell'Arte'. The Nymphenburg factory's most famous modeller, Bustelli, has portrayed him in the traditional manner as a thin, shifty and mean-looking old man, his hands holding firmly on to his moneybags hidden under his cloak. His strange clothes would have been considered ridiculously old-fashioned, even then, but they also tell us about his status, red being the most expensive dye at the time and the preserve of only the richest in society.
This figure is a very fine example of its kind. In addition to usual mark of the Nymphenburg factory, the Bavarian shield prominently edged with gilding on the scroll base, it bears the impressed mark of Bustelli himself on the underside. This rare mark tells us that this particular model was finished by the great man himself and approved by him as the version for other mould finishers (or 'repairers' as they are known) to follow.
This figure is a very fine example of its kind. In addition to usual mark of the Nymphenburg factory, the Bavarian shield prominently edged with gilding on the scroll base, it bears the impressed mark of Bustelli himself on the underside. This rare mark tells us that this particular model was finished by the great man himself and approved by him as the version for other mould finishers (or 'repairers' as they are known) to follow.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded |
Brief description | Figure of an Italian comedy character, Pantaloon, modelled in hard-paste porcelain by Franz Anton Bustelli, made at the Nymphenburg porcelain factory, Nymphenburg, Bavaria, ca. 1760. |
Physical description | Figure of an elderly bearded man in hard-paste porcelain, his head turned over his right shoulder, his mouth open as if speaking, his hands clasped behind under his flowing black cloak, his left leg thrust forward to make a bow, his long waistcoat, breeches and hose all deep red, also wearing pointed yellow shoes or slippers, a pointed black hat, and a short sword hanging down over his left thigh, on a flat white scroll-edged base, the rims of the base and the sword scabbard gilded. A minute firing flaw on the upper surface of the white base has been disguised by a small green sprig. |
Style | |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the Murray Bequest |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Pantaloon, a rich Venetian merchant, is the tight-fisted father of Isabella, one of the main romantic heroines of the Italian comic theatre or 'Commedia dell'Arte'. The Nymphenburg factory's most famous modeller, Bustelli, has portrayed him in the traditional manner as a thin, shifty and mean-looking old man, his hands holding firmly on to his moneybags hidden under his cloak. His strange clothes would have been considered ridiculously old-fashioned, even then, but they also tell us about his status, red being the most expensive dye at the time and the preserve of only the richest in society. This figure is a very fine example of its kind. In addition to usual mark of the Nymphenburg factory, the Bavarian shield prominently edged with gilding on the scroll base, it bears the impressed mark of Bustelli himself on the underside. This rare mark tells us that this particular model was finished by the great man himself and approved by him as the version for other mould finishers (or 'repairers' as they are known) to follow. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | C.153-1932 |
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Record created | May 7, 2009 |
Record URL |
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