An extremely rare large Derby Group of ‘Isabella, the Gallant and the Jester’, Circa 1765

An extremely rare large Derby Group of ‘Isabella, the Gallant and the Jester’, the two lovers modelled seated on the trunk of a tree, the gallant wearing a yellow puce lined and brocaded jacket, a loose chemise and white waistcoat with gold trim and buttons. His red breeches and white stockings with turquoise garters tied with bows. His one arm extended across ‘Isabella’s back, his other arm inclined across his chest. She wearing a turquoise dress over a yellow floral brocaded skirt, her white red lined blouse over a striped bodice, with tiny hat to match, a jewelled stomacher and a fallen garter around her ankle. About to embrace the Gallant she holds steady a little black lap dog, which gazes at the Jester who creeps in from the right wearing a brilliant multicoloured, striped and floral costume together with a ruff.  He offers an assortment of delicacies from a scalloped rimmed plate, whilst secretly looking at Isabella’s breasts. The seated and standing figures upon an irregularly scroll moulded base, gilt with highlights and applied with brightly coloured flowers, leaves and tendrils.

This very rare large Derby group is based on the Meissen original modelled by J.J. Kaendler circa 1745 and entitled ‘The Mockery of Age’. It was however originally made at Derby during the mid 1750’s during the Planché  period. The example illustrated by John Twitchett ‘Derby Porcelain’, from the Royal Crown Derby Museum, p. 69. No 13, also has a small tree incorporated into the group behind the seated figures. This example was also loaned to the ‘Clowning’ Exhibition at Nottingham Castle in 1977, No. 77 in the catalogue. The example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from the Irwin Untermeyer Collection, illustrated Dr. Hackenbroch, pl. 103, fig 277, was also exhibited at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1954 in the exhibition entitled ‘English Pottery and Porcelain 1300-1850’ and was illustrated in the frontispiece to the catalogue, no. 219. This example has a full bocage tree surrounding the figures in the group. There is a further example in the Chicago Art Institute and another in the Collection of Mrs. C.B. Stout (Warda Stevens) at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, this example like this present group does not have a tree or bocage behind the figures.