~ Impressive Samson Ceramic Figural Group of Europa & The Bull ~
This hard paste porcelain piece by Samson depicts 'Europa', a Phoenician princess in Greek mythology, from whom the name of the continent Europe is taken, and 'The Bull', famously associated with her story.
They are seated on a high scroll base.
The piece has hand-painted decoration in vibrant colours with gilt highlights and features finely crafted flowers.
The figurine is a copy of the earlier soft paste piece by the Chelsea factory in their gold anchor period (1756-1769.). Chelsea in turn copied items from the Meissen factory.
The base is not stamped other than an inscribed '107' over an '8'. The Sampson anchor is not present, I suspect that a prior owner tried to pass it off as an earlier piece which is a common problem. It would have been on the green base scrolls on the right side when viewed from the front.
~ Dimensions ~
The figurine has a width of 7 inches (17.7 cm), a depth of 6 inches (15.2 cm) and a height of 11 inches (27.9 cm).
It weighs 1.95 kg.
~ Condition ~
The piece is in terrific condition, free from chips, cracks and restoration.
The glaze is near perfect and the gilding has only very minor areas of wear.
