Sunday, January 19, 2014

Figure of the Day: The Staffordshire Harpy, 1780-90




Harpy
Burslem Factory, Staffordshire
1780-1790
The Victoria & Albert Museum


Here’s a nifty Staffordshire figure. Not the usual happy scene or elegant portrait, this lead-glazed earthenware figurine depicts a harpy seated on a four-lobed oval base.

With the head of a lady and a bird’s wings and tail, she’s got the body of a lion. And just to make sure that she’s fancy enough for you, her tail is also a whistle! Well, well…that’s handy. She was made between 1780 and 1790 at the Burslem Factory in Staffordshire.
  



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