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Punch's Judy with baby
Production: Unidentified factory
White earthenware figure, press-moulded in two parts with separately moulded head and hump, and lead glazed. Painted underglaze in cobalt blue and in black, green, orange, red and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt.
Judy stands holding the baby in her left arm, her right hand resting on it. She has a pronounced upward pointing hump on her back and a pointed nose and chin. The figure is well coloured. She wears a blue jacket edged in gilt, with a ruff collar, a tall white hat and an orange and green check apron over a long orange skirt. Her hair is white and her teeth, bared in a menacing grin, are outlined in red. The baby wears a long white nightgown and cap, edged in gilt. The round base has a gilt line across the front and some radial marks on the top.The underside is open and glazed. The back is rounded, and partly decorated.
History note: From the collection of the late Colonel R.G. Turner.
Given by Mrs J.E.Campbell, from the collection of Col R.G.Turner, 1984
Depth: 8.3 cm
Depth: 3.25 in
Height: 21.5 cm
Height: 8.25 in
Width: 7.1 cm
Width: 2.75 in
Method of acquisition: Given (1984) by Cameron, J.E., Mrs
19th Century, Mid#
Victoria I
Circa
1845
CE
-
Circa
1865
CE
Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring the characters of Mr Punch and his wife, Judy. Derived from the Italian comedia del arte, the first records of Mr Punch in England date from c.1660. Originally a marionette performance, by Victorian times ‘Punch and Judy’ had become a popular glove-puppet show, performed from a portable booth by a single puppeteer. These shows travelled from town to town, and were particularly popular at the seaside. Punch is a hook-nosed, hump-backed figure whose high pitched, squeaky voice is produced through the use of a ‘swazzle’ or squeaker. The plots vary, but typically involve Punch attacking the other characters, who generally include his wife Judy, their baby, a hungry crocodile and a policeman, with a truncheon and a string of sausages amongst the props.
The use of underglaze blue and the partly moulded back on these figures suggests a date around c.1845-1865. There were many Punch and Judy figures made in the Victorian period, and there is little to indicate where this pair might have been made.
Decoration composed of enamels ( black, green, orange, red and flesh-pink enamels) underglaze cobalt-blue gold
Press-moulding
: White earthenware, press-moulded in two parts with separately moulded head and hump, and lead glazed. Painted underglaze in cobalt blue and in black, green, orange, red and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt. The base is open and glazed. The back is rounded, and partly decorated
Lead-glazing
Accession number: C.872-1984
Primary reference Number: 76264
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Punch's Judy with baby" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76264 Accessed: 2024-12-22 13:02:12
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76264
|title=Punch's Judy with baby
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-22 13:02:12|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-76264
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa1/C_872_1984_281_29.jpg"
alt="Punch's Judy with baby"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Punch's Judy with baby</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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