Description:
English soft paste porcelain figurine of John Wilkes (1725-1797) standing on a plinth with his right hand holding a broken quill pen and resting on two scrolls marked "Magnacarta" and "Bill of Rights" on top of a pedestal. The Wilkes figure is dressed with a white and gold coat and breeches with a pink robe or banyan, there are symbols of power - a baton, scepter or mace, and a sword - at his feet, he stands upon an octagonal base with Grecian key decoration along the sides. The figure suggests Wilkes' crossed eyes and casualness with the unbuttoned waistcoat and the pink robe loosely draped over his left shoulder and left knee. A putto sits at his feet on the left holding up a red-orange Phrygian cap or bonnet of liberty on a short stick, and next to a pink book that on other examples (not this one) is titled "LOCK on Govt," probably the 1690 "Essay concerning the True Original Extent and End of Civil Government" by John Locke (1632-1704), which influenced 18th century Whigs and radicals. Wilkes, an English political reformer and satirist, became a member of Parliament for Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire in 1757. Although considered a radical in England (with a notorious private life), he was honored for his integrity. Throughout his long career both in and out of government, Wilkes advocated for basic civil rights such as free speech, freedom of the press, standardized procedures for police arrests, and colonial rights. In 1761, Wilkes started the periodical, "The North Briton", which satirized the government. The provocative tone of this publication made it an instant hit, selling well over 2,000 copies weekly, nearly ten times the circulation of the government friendly, conservative newspaper, "The Briton." In 1763, "The North Briton" issue "No. 45” said, in effect, that the colonies should be free and satirized King George III’s speech from the throne, which outraged the King and court and lead to his being convicted of libel in 1764 before Lord Mansfield. Cries of “Wilkes and Liberty,” went up from his adoring public in support of his cause, and the “No. 45” represented a movement of revolt against the government. According to Wilkes, his trial would determine whether “English liberty be a reality or a shadow.” Wilkes won his case, claiming Parliamentary privilege exempted him from prosecution; however when he was charged with blasphemous libel after being expelled from parliament, Wilkes fled England, returning in 1768 when he was arrested again, serving 22 months in prison. Eventually he was expelled from Parliament five times between 1764 and 1772, and served as Lord Mayor of London in 1774. Wilkes’ fame resulted in his idolization in England and the American colonies; many commemorative items with Wilkes' image, such as prints and ceramics, were produced for the domestic market and export. Although Wilkes supported the independence of the American colonies, he did have his detractors; Benjamin Franklin called Wilkes “an outlaw …of bad character, not worth a farthing.” The decoration suggests a date in the 1770s, around the time of Wilkes' political comeback; the flesh tones on Wilkes and the putto are a common feature on Derby sculpture of this period. "126" in script is hand-incised on the base, found on Derby models from about 1775 onward. Condition: one finger and the top of the scepter has been restored. There is some staining. There are some black specks/bubbles and firing cracks. The figure of Wilkes was often paired with Field Marshall Henry Seymour Conway.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+65.031 |
