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Lot Essay
Jean-Jacques Spängler was a talented modeller who came from a French-speaking Swiss family that was well established in the porcelain world. His father was one of the leading men at the Höchst factory in Germany before he moved to Switzerland and became technical director of the Zürich porcelain factory. Little is known of Jean-Jacques' early years although it is thought that he may have worked as a modeller at his father's factory. He was influenced by the Swiss Neo-Classical sculptor Johann Valentine Sonnenschein (1749-1828) who produced models supported on collar-like pedestal bases (similar to the present example) for the Zürich porcelain factory. Jean-Jacques Spängler became an accomplished modeller in his own right and was employed by William Duesbury II in 1790 on the recommendation of B. Vulliamy. However he proved to be a troublesome employee who fell into debt, breached his contract and absconded in 1792, returning to the factory later that year under a more restrictive contract. His time working at Derby was interrupted by several spells in prison and it is thought that he probably returned to the Continent after Duesbury's death in 1796.
For a full discussion of Jean-Jacques Spängler's work at the Derby factory and for an illustration of the Shepherdess figure (without a stand) see Timothy Clifford, Connoiseur, Vol. 198, June 1978, pp. 146-154, fig. A. For an illustration of the model (without a stand), which is thought to be Spängler's penultimate for the factory, see Peter Bradshaw, Derby Porcelain Figures 1750-1848, London, 1990, p. 398, no. 333, where the author credits Timothy Clifford with identifying the source for the model as an engraving of 'Adelaide' (from Marmontel's celebrated play 'The Shepherdess of the Alps') by Jacob Hogg after Francis Wheatley, published in July 1787. A Derby figure of the Shepherdess and her accompanying Shepherd (without their stands) were in the Leverhulme Collection, sale Sotheby's, 28 June 2001, lot 912; another pair without stands were sold at Sotheby's, New York, 15 and 16 October 1980, lot 187. An example, also without the stand, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. C.9-1975 and a pair without stands are in the Walker Art Gallery (M1338 and M13390) and the Lady Lever Art Gallery (LL 10450 and LL 10451). It would appear that there are no known examples of this group that survive together with the stand.
For Spängler's biscuit group of a Russian shepherd with an oval stand of the same design as that in the present lot see John Twitchett, Derby Porcelain 1748-1848, Woodbridge, 2002, p. 105, where the author gives a detailed account of Spängler's time at Derby.
For a full discussion of Jean-Jacques Spängler's work at the Derby factory and for an illustration of the Shepherdess figure (without a stand) see Timothy Clifford, Connoiseur, Vol. 198, June 1978, pp. 146-154, fig. A. For an illustration of the model (without a stand), which is thought to be Spängler's penultimate for the factory, see Peter Bradshaw, Derby Porcelain Figures 1750-1848, London, 1990, p. 398, no. 333, where the author credits Timothy Clifford with identifying the source for the model as an engraving of 'Adelaide' (from Marmontel's celebrated play 'The Shepherdess of the Alps') by Jacob Hogg after Francis Wheatley, published in July 1787. A Derby figure of the Shepherdess and her accompanying Shepherd (without their stands) were in the Leverhulme Collection, sale Sotheby's, 28 June 2001, lot 912; another pair without stands were sold at Sotheby's, New York, 15 and 16 October 1980, lot 187. An example, also without the stand, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, no. C.9-1975 and a pair without stands are in the Walker Art Gallery (M1338 and M13390) and the Lady Lever Art Gallery (LL 10450 and LL 10451). It would appear that there are no known examples of this group that survive together with the stand.
For Spängler's biscuit group of a Russian shepherd with an oval stand of the same design as that in the present lot see John Twitchett, Derby Porcelain 1748-1848, Woodbridge, 2002, p. 105, where the author gives a detailed account of Spängler's time at Derby.