Sculpture of the Day: A Group of Parian Figures of the Royal Family, 1773

The Royal Family of King George III
Parian, John Bacon, 1773
The Royal Collection

That Queen Mary felt compelled to rescue this delicate group of parian figures is not surprising. Not only is the group extremely rare, but it also represents her ancestors. Not only that, but it is in itself an example of the reproduction in porcelain of an elaborate painted composition portrait group from 1770 by Zoffany which the artist created of the Royal Family in “Van Dyck” costume.

The group was modeled by the sculptor John Bacon who adapted the arrangement of the figures to better present them on the base. More so than Zoffany’s portrait, Bacon focused the attention of the group more directly on the four Princes which includes the future King George IV .