A large, Late 19th Century Antique English Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Theatrical Portrait Figure of Australian interest, depicting "George Rignold as Henry V", P E190 ~ H 4143. Standing, in an open crown, over a chain-mail cap, wearing cuirass, gauntlets and thigh-plates. His left arm around a tall flag-pole with a large flag, and his right foot upon a step. On the floor, between his legs, is a heart-shaped shield decorated with an unidentified animal. "France. Before Harfleur. K. Hen. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...." Shakespeare : King Henry V : Act 3. Scene 1." George Rignold, 1839 - 1912, was an English-born actor, active in Australia. This figure is believed to have been produced in 1879, when he spent a season playing Henry V at Drury Lane in London. Subsequently settling in Australia, he held the lease on Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, when it opened 10 September 1887, holding it for seven years and playing the role of Henry V on the theatre's opening night.
Height ~ 40.60 cm. / 16.00 inches ~ Width ~ 17.75 cm. / 7.00 inches ~ Depth ~ 10.10 cm. / 4.00 inches ~ Maker ~ Attributed by Pugh in his "Staffordshire Portrait Figures of the Victorian Era" to Sampson Smith of Longton, Circa 1879 ~ This attribution confirmed by Harding, who catalogues the piece as Circa 1880
