Parian ware was first made at the Copeland Factory in England in about 1841. It is a white un-glazed fine porcelain resembling marble, named after the Greek Island of Paros. In the 1840s, it offered the less wealthy a chance to collect small scale copies of famous marble sculptures which were reduced from full to miniature size using the pantograph. Minton, Worcester, Wedgwood and Belleek among others also produced Parian porcelain.
Minton produced more than 500 Parian figures during the mid to late 1800s. A sketch of this figure group is in Minton's Ornament's Book, where it is described as 'Chantry's Group', model number 126.
This charming figure group is more commonly known as "Sleeping Children" and is a copy of the monument by Sir Francis Chantrey (completed 1816) in Lichfield Cathedral. The work is considered to be one of the sculptor's finest works and one of the greatest works of English sculpture during the period.
The model is a fine figure of two girls asleep on a bed, their heads on a tasselled pillow. The girl's dresses are naturalistic falling in folds and the younger child holding a flowers. The original sculpture was commissioned by Ellen-Jane Robinson as a memorial to her daughters, Ellen-Jane and Marianne.
My model has an impressed MINTON stamp on the base.
Given it is now nearly 180 years old - this Parian model is in relatively good condition - there are a couple of little restored chips, mainly at the corners - but the main figure group is perfect and without issues. The parian is nice and white - with no staining and displays well.
It is a fine addition to a traditional Georgian / Victorian interior. This is taken into consideration with my pricing. It remains a rather rare piece of antique Parian; many are now in museums and special collections.
It will be send to you in the UK with Parcelforce24. This will be just over £10 and applied to your order at the checkout.