Martlesham Antiques

Description

A 19th Century parian figure of Venus with apple with a turtle by her side standing on a plinth base. Circa 1850.

Parian ware is a type of bisque porcelain imitating marble. It was developed around 1845 by the Staffordshire pottery manufacturer Mintons, and named after Paros, the Greek island renowned for its fine-textured, white Parian marble, used since antiquity for sculpture. It was also contemporaneously referred to as Statuary Porcelain by Copeland. Parian was essentially designed to imitate carved marble, with the great advantage that it could be prepared in a liquid form and cast in a mould, enabling mass production.

Parian ware was utilised mainly for busts and figurines, and occasionally for dishes and small vases, such as might be carved from marble. Several English factories claimed credit for its development. In 1845, as part of a concerted effort to raise public taste and improve manufactures, the Art Union of London commissioned Copeland to make a series of figures after works by leading contemporary sculptors. Mintons and Wedgwood produced similar wares, also known as "statuary porcelain", parian was initially used for relatively high quality work.

5 1/2" x 4" x 17" high.

14cms x 10cms x 43cms high.