A very rare documentary Derby model of a ram, the base incised with the name Thomas Mason and date 1774.
Dated 1774, inscription to base.
Length 5.6cm
Dated pieces are rare in all eighteenth century English porcelain, and this is a particularly rare piece of dated Derby. Thomas Mason is believed to have been a ‘China or Porcelain repairer’ employed by William Duesbury, recorded in a document of 22 Sept. 1772.
Condition: Some restoration
Provenance: Bunny and Paul Davies Collection
For a full description and discussion of this piece and the role of a ‘repairer’, see Spero S., Exhibition 2013, p.38, no.20