Bonhams 1793 : A rare Chelsea Commedia dell'Arte figure of Dr. Boloardo, circa 1755

Modelled after Meissen, standing in a declamatory pose with one arm raised, the other on his hip, wearing a pink coat tied with a belt under his paunch, a black cloak and breeches and a hat with its broad brim turned up to reveal his face, set on a circular base applied with colourful florets, 15cm high, red anchor mark

Sold for £2,750 inc. premium

Footnotes

For the Meissen prototype modelled by Reinicke and Kändler for the Duke of Weissenfels in 1744, see Dr. Reinhard Jansen, Commedia Dell'Arte exhibition catalogue (Berlin) 2001, no 35, p.54. This model is likely to have featured in the collection of Meissen figures loaned to the Chelsea factory by Sir Charles Hanbury Williams in 1751. The Chelsea version was probably modelled by Joseph Willems and is slightly larger than the Meissen prototype