This is a set of two very charming figures portraying a boy and a girl playing with animals. It was made by the Derby King Street Factory (Sampson Hancock) in about 1915.
The Derby Porcelain Company became very famous for its top quality figures. It had bought the Chelsea factory in around 1770 and it was Chelsea's fabulous moulds and skilled workpeople who made Derby great. Derby struggled in the early 19th Century and closed its doors in 1848, but a number of workers started a new factory in King Street, Derby. Eventually, the factory was merged with the much bigger Royal Crown Derby, which was another offshoot of the original Derby Porcelain.
These King Street figures are remakes of the original Derby figures, but they are different in that they are a bit more sentimental in style - but then this makes them very charming. The boy looks truly delighted with the little dog, whose face expresses pure love; and the girl is equally loving with her little lamb, whose face is as peaceful and sweet as the girl's. The clothes of both children are made with great attention to detail.
The figures are marked with the puce Derby Sampson Hancock mark, as it was used at the time.
CONDITION REPORT Both figures are in perfect condition with no wear, damage or crazing.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s and early 1900s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS height 17cm (6.7").
SHIPPING I ship worldwide from the UK, mostly by Royal Mail 2nd Class for the UK and International Tracked and Signed for the rest of the world. I am happy to combine shipping charges on multiple items - please contact me to discuss. In principle I do not make a profit on shipping although for simplicity's sake I charge flat shipping fees. If the fee charged greatly exceeds the actual cost I will gladly refund you the difference - at the same time if it is slightly lower I will gladly make up the difference. In some countries shipping will end up significantly more than the expected fees and I will contact you to discuss our options. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING SHIPPING COSTS AND OPTIONS.
Derby King Street figures, children playing with animals, 1915
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