AFTER THE ANTIQUE, A RARE TERRACOTTA STATUE OF THE CAPITOLINE FLORA BY THE PULHAM POTTERY

AFTER THE ANTIQUE- A RARE TERRACOTTA STATUE OF THE CAPITOLINE FLORA
BY THE PULHAM POTTERY, LATE 19TH CENTURY
On associated Blashfield pedestal base, figure stamped PULHAM BROXBOURNE, pedestal hand inscribed J M Blashfield, Stamford
Figure 167cm high, approximately 255cm high overall, base 69 by 69cm

This rare Pulham figure of the Capitoline Flora, goddess of flowers and the season of spring and fertility, does not appear in either of the early 20th century Pulham catalogues, suggesting that it was a one off commission, perhaps in emulation of earlier examples such as the Coade figure held at Basildon Park, Berkshire or Filippo della Valle's version in marble commissioned by the Adam brothers for Syon House.

The Capitoline Flora was discovered in 1744 in the Pecile of Villa Adriana and was placed in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. In 1797 it was ceded to the French under the terms of the Treaty of Tolento and put on display in the Musee Centrale des Arts in Paris before being returned to the refurbished Capitoline Museum in 1816 where she still stands in the Palazzo Nuovo.

The Pulham company was established in 1820 and in 1845 James Pulham & Son set up a manufactory in Broxbourne making terracotta and cast stone garden ornaments. From this base the firm expanded into landscape design, creating beautiful artificial landscapes with rustic waterways, rocky streams, grottoes and tunnels. The Pulhams are known to have produced work for at least 170 sites around the UK, from public parks and gardens to large private gardens and received two royal warrants, the first in 1895 for work at Sandringham for HRH The Prince of Wales, the second for work at Buckingham Palace in 1903.