Rare pottery pearlware glazed bust of Leopold, Staffordshire c1820

Dated: 1816 Staffordshire England

An exceptionally rare Staffordshire pottery bust of Leopold ( husband of Princess Charlotte). The modelling and enamel decoration is of the highest quality. A similar piece is located in the Stoke on Trent Museum Staffordshire England and at the BELvue Museum in Brussells Belgium. The large scale of the piece is truly magnificent. A companion bust of Princess Charlotte was produced by the same pottery probably at the time of their wedding in 1816.

Dimensions: 19.5 inches high

Current Condition: Fine condition with some touching in of rubbed black enamels

Provenance: Important Collection London

Literature: note taken from the decsription of the figure in Brussell BELvue Museum "This bust of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg differs from the better-known official and more static representations of our first sovereign. Here, in fact, he is not represented as King of the Belgians, but rather as a future Prince Consort to the British Crown. This bust is thus a unique testimony to his career in Britain before he became our first king. Léopold of Saxe-Coburg had been a prominent personality in the United Kingdom, having married, in 1816, Princess Charlotte-Augusta, daughter of the future George IV and heir to the British throne. Léopold had been appointed Field Marshall, the highest grade of the British army, as well as Knight of the Garter. However, the sudden death of Charlotte-Augusta after the birth of their child changed everything and Léopold was then to follow an entirely different course. This did not prevent him from maintaining excellent contacts with Britain and in particular with Queen Victoria, whose advice she very much appreciated. In fact, Léopold was one of the most influential diplomats of his time, as is borne out in the Goffinet Archives, acquired by the King Baudouin Foundation in 1993 and kept today in the archives of the Royal Palace.

£16000    $18400