~ Impressive Samson Group Ceramic “Europa & The Bull” 11 Inches Tall ~
The 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.
This vibrant piece has been decorated with vibrant colours of red, purple, blue & green with finely crafted flowers and gilt high lights.
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 view 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 excellent condition, free from chips, cracks and restoration. The glaze is near perfect as is the gilding which has very minor areas of wear,