Beschreibung:

A pair of fine George III artificial 'Coade Stone' urn finials, late 18th century, stamped for Coade, Lambeth, the fluted ovoid bodies with domed integral covers and acorn finials, with waisted circular socles; one with stamp COADE LAMBETH 1794, the other with indistinct stamp COADE LA...; presented on square section artificial stone plinths cast with rams' masks and swags; approximately 120cm high overall, the plinths 34cm squareCoade stone is a vitrified ceramic or stoneware body developed by Mrs Eleanor Coade during the 1770s. Known components of the recipe for this distinctive pale orange material include ball clay from Dorset or Devon, flint and sand, though there was some secrecy about the exact proportions of ingredients used.Eleanor Coade and her daughter, who was also called Eleanor, ran a successful and prolific manufactory in Lambeth, and produced statuary and ornament for many royal and aristocratic houses, including by appointment to King George III, and the Prince Regent.The design of the present urns appears in Coade's 1778 trade catalogue, no. 94 (plate marked N. 2 in the Sir John Soane museum copy of the catalogue).A pair of finials of identical design, in that case not presented on plinths, were sold at Christie's, the Michael Roberts Collection of Garden ornaments, 27 September 2004, lot 278 (£35,850).A pair of similar Coade stone pedestals with rams' masks to the corners, though now lacking the swags it once had, supports a pair of vases after the Antique at Chiswick House, London. One is illustrated in John Davis Antique Garden Ornament, the Antique Collectors' Club, 1991, p. 167, plate 4:6