Footnotes

Provenance
O.J.R.Brookman Esq, Sotheby's sale 8 October 1946
Christie's sale 5 June 1978, lot 138
Sotheby's sale 27 October 2015, Lot 58

Literature
Illustrated by John Twitchett, Derby Porcelain (1980), p.33

The set of the 'Five Chinoiserie Senses' is the most accomplished of a small number of early 'dry edge' figures which appear to be by the same modeller, the quality of the modelling placing them among the finest pieces of 18th century British ceramic art.

The identity of the modeller responsible has been much discussed over the years. Most recently, John Mallet has made a convincing case for Agostino Carlini. See J.V.G.Mallet, Agostino Carlini, Modeller of Derby 'Dry-Edge' Figures?, British Ceramic Design 1600-2002, English Ceramic Circle 2003, p.42.

The model of 'Sight' is perhaps the most lively of the five groups that form this remarkable set. Here the sense of movement conveyed by the female figure contrasts with the more withdrawn pose of her seated companion. Some recorded examples have a bird perched upon the left hand of the female figure. The original mould for this model was found at the Spode factory in the late 19th century and a fire-clay 'squeeze' of the head of the lady is illustrated by Mallet, op.cit. p.54 alongside another white version and a coloured example in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

No complete set of the five senses appears to be recorded. Examples of 'Feeling', 'Taste', 'Sight' and 'Smell' are illustrated by Dennis G Rice, Derby Porcelain' (1983), pp.73-76 and 'Sight' and 'Smell' by Barrett and Thorpe, Derby Porcelain (1971), pls.16 and 17. The group of 'Hearing' is described by Peter Bradshaw, 18th Century English Porcelain Figures (1981), p.301, Appendix J as 'a Chinese lady holding a lyre standing beside a seated child'. An example from the Wallace Elliot Collection was sold by Sotheby's on 25 May 1938, lot 317.