Description
This large-scale pottery equestrian figure of a cossack is pearlware glazed, decorated in color enamels, and stands on a faux black marble oblong base.
The imposing, bearded male brandishes a saber, and a pistol is tucked into his wide belt while seated on his sturdy pony.
Myrna Schkolne, in her reference 31.37 Volume 2 Staffordshirefigures 1780-1840, notes that the figure was likely inspired by ” The Brave Cossack,” a spectacle at Astley’s London-based Amphitheatre performed in 1807 and 1812. The drama would have been of special interest to the British public as the Russian Cossacks were fighting the war with Napoleon during his disastrous winter campaign.
Another example of this rare figure is located at the Brighton and Hove Museum in Henry Willett’s Collection collection.