ANTIQUE DERBY/ROYAL CROWN DERBY FIGURINE C:1810

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ANTIQUE DERBY/ROYAL CROWN DERBY FIGURINE C:1810 ANTIQUE DERBY/ROYAL CROWN DERBY FIGURINE C:1810!! You are Bidding on this FABULOUS Group figurine in Very Good/Excellent Condition!! C: 1800-1825 Maker Derby. William Duesbury I and II In 1745 André Planché, a Huguenot immigrant from Saxony, settled in Derby, w between 1747 and 1755 he made porcelain figurines. At the beginning of 1756 he formed a business partnership with William Duesbury, a porcelain painter formerly at Chelsea and Longton Hall, and John Heath (the original agreement survives in the Victoria and Albert Museum). This was the foundation of the Derby company, although production at the works at Cockpit Hill had begun before then, as evidenced by a creamware jug dated 1750, also in the possession of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Planché disappeared and the business was developed by Duesbury and Heath, and later Duesbury alone. A talented entrepreneur, he quickly established Derby as a leading manufacturer of dinner services and figurines by employing the best talents available for modelling and painting. In 1770, Duesbury further increased the already high reputation of Derby by his acquisition of the famous Chelsea porcelain factory in London. He operated it on its original site until 1784 (the products of this period are known as "Chelsea-Derby"). Again, in 1776 , he acquired the prestigious Bow China Works. In 1773, Duesbury's hard work was rewarded by King George III, who after visiting the Derby works granted him permission to incorporate royal crown into the Derby backstamp, after which the company was known as Crown Derby. In 1786, William Duesbury died, leaving the company to his son, William Duesbury II, also a talented director, who besides keeping the reputation of the company at its height, developed a number of new glazes and body types. [edit] Michael Kean William Duesbury II did not live to fulfil his promise: he died in 1797 at the age of 34 and the company was taken over by his business partner, an Irishman named Michael Kean, who later married Duesbury's widow. He seems not to have enjoyed good relations with the highly skilled workforce, and many eminent artists left. Others however produced good work under his management. The best-known artist of this time was William Pegg, a Quaker, famed for his striking and idiosyncratic flower painting. William Duesbury III, born in 1790, son of William Duesbury II, took over the factory when he came of age. [edit] Robert Bloor Crown Derby Imari plate, 19th centuryIn 1815, the factory was leased to the firm's salesman and clerk, Robert Bloor, and the Duesburys played no further part in it. Bloor borrowed heavily to be able to make the payments demanded but proved himself to be a highly able businessman in his ways of recouping the money and putting the business back on a sound financial footing. He also possessed a thorough appreciation of the aesthetic side of the business and Derby continued to thrive. In 1845, however, Bloor died, and after three years under Thomas Clarke, the Cockpit Works were sold and the factory closed in 1848. [edit] King Street A group of former employees set up a factory in King Street in Derby, and continued to use the moulds, patterns and trademarks of the former business, although not the name, so keeping alive the Derby traditions of fine craftsmanship. No mechanical processes were used, and no two pieces produced were exactly the same. Among the items preserved was the original potter's wheel of the Duesburys, still owned by the present Royal Derby Company. [edit] Osmaston Road In 1877, an impressive new factory was built by new owners of the Crown Derby name in Osmaston Road, Derby, thus beginning the modern period of Derby porcelain. Crown Derby's patterns became immensely popular during the late Victorian era, as their romantic and lavish designs exactly met the popular taste of the period. [edit] Royal Crown Derby In 1890, Queen Victoria appointed Crown Derby to be "Manufacturers of porcelain to Her Majesty" and by Royal Warrant granted them t... read more

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