American Hand Painted "Falstaff" Portrait Stein

Porcelain : American : Hand Painted

 

Fabulous example of American hand painted porcelain from the early 1900s. Depicts a well-executed rendition of Sir John Falstaff, one of the most famous comic characters in all English literature, who appears in four of Shakespeare's plays.

Stein stands 7" tall. Condition is very good -to-excellent, with no chips, cracks, or repairs, and extremely minor wear to the hand painted finish and gold accent trim on the handle and top rim. Quality is comparable to many of the professional china decorating studios in Chicago and elsewhere, at the time.

Singed on the bottom by the artist, Kimmel.

Literary Note: Entirely the creation of Shakespeare, Falstaff is said to have been partly modeled on Sir John Oldcastle, a soldier and the martyred leader of the Lollard sect. Shakespeare had originally called this character Sir John Oldcastle in the first version of Henry IV, Part 1, but had changed the name before the play was registered, doubtless because descendants of the historical Oldcastle--who were then prominent at court--protested. He chose the name Falstaff partly because it contained echoes of the name Sir John Fastolf, which he had earlier given to a cowardly knight in Henry VI, Part 1. (The historical Sir John Fastolf was a braggart career soldier, who in the second phase of the Hundred Years' War had something of a reputation as a coward; however, Shakespeare's presentation of his character was downright libelous.)

Item ID: 1400