A lovely Minton Parian figure of Princess Louise as Plenty

A lovely Minton Parian figure of Princess Louise as Plenty by Mary Thornycroft, dated 1862. The young princess holds a cornucopia filled with the fruits of the harvest.

Princess Louise (1848 – 1939) was the 6^th child and 4^th daughter of Queen Victoria  who married the Marquis of Lorne, later the Duke of Argyll.  Mary Thorneycroft was a sculptor favoured by Queen Victoria and she made marble statues of several of the queen’s children which were reproduced in Parian for Minton and, later, for Copeland. The originals and Parian copies remain in the Royal Collection and may be seen at Osborne house on the Isle of Wight. Mary Thorneycroft was the daughter of the sculptor John Francis and married Thomas Thorneycroft, another sculptor who had trained under her father. This group is illustrated in the “Parian Phenomenon” page 111 fig 371 and the engraving from the 1861 Art Journal is reproduced on page 34, fig 49. According to the Parian Phenomenon the group was exhibited at the International Exhibition in 1862.

Height 40cm (15.75”)

Condition: Very good. Two flat chips at the base have been restored.