CIRCA 1765

Details

A pair of Bow figures of pugilists
Circa 1765
One with a shaven head, wearing pink breeches with his green cap, his wig and coat at his side, the other with iron-red breeches with a coat and tricorn hat to his side, both bare-chested with fists raised in a boxing stance, on tree-stump mounds applied with flowers and pierced scroll-moulded bases enriched in pink, turquoise and gilt (both with minor chips to the flowers, the figure in iron-red breeches with a minor chip to his coat and hat and a chip to the base, the other with a blemish to his hip)
7 in. (17.8 cm.) high (2)

Provenance

Bearing paper labels for the John G. Perkins Collection, Albert Amor Ltd.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

Cf. Anton Gabszewicz, Bow Porcelain, The Collection Formed by Geoffrey Freeman (London, 1982), p. 133, no. 214 for an earlier version of the above pair and p. 142, no. 235 for a related figure contemporary to the above lot. See also Raymond C. Yarborough, Bow Porcelain and the London Theatre (Michigan, 1996) p. 9, fig. 15, for an engraving of the shaven-headed John (Jack) Broughton (1705-1789), famed Thames Waterman and champion pugilist; see fig. 16 for the Slack-Broughton fight of 1750, on which the Duke of Cumberland lost a ten thousand pounds wager, backing Broughton. It may be of interest to note that in his retirement, Broughton was a connoisseur and dealer, selling curiosities and objects of vertu.

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