Royal Doulton | Diana | HN2468 | Porcelain Figure | 1986 onwards

The great Royal Doulton lady figures are studies in a particular kind of stillness — a moment of poise caught in ceramic and held there indefinitely.

Royal Doulton's tradition of modelling female figures in period costume is one of the longest-running and most commercially successful programmes in British ceramics. From the early HN series figures of the 1910s through to the production pieces of the late twentieth century, the range documented changing tastes in both ceramic modelling and in the idealised representation of femininity. "Diana," introduced in 1986, belongs to the later phase of this tradition — a figure conceived in the eighteenth-century pastoral manner, with a full-skirted gown, fitted bodice and the easy, composed bearing that characterises the best of the Royal Doulton lady studies. The model was produced at the Nile Street works in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, under the quality standards that Royal Doulton maintained throughout its fine figure production.

The figure depicts a young woman in eighteenth-century dress, her weight shifted slightly to one side and her right arm extended, holding a single rose. The gown is full and generously modelled, the skirt spreading wide and decorated across its surface with scattered polychrome floral sprays — roses, daisies and mixed blooms in pink, red, yellow, blue and purple on a white ground. The bodice is pale blue-white with a pink ribbon bow at the centre front and elbow-length sleeves with turned-back cuffs. The hair is dressed up and powdered white in the eighteenth-century manner. The face is finely painted with a soft, turned expression. A single pink-painted shoe is visible beneath the hem of the skirt.

There are no chips, cracks, crazing or restoration. The figure is in mint condition throughout, with all painted decoration fully intact.

Key Details

• Maker: Royal Doulton
• Figure Name: Diana
• HN Number: HN2468
• Material: Porcelain
• Production Period: 1986 onwards
• Condition: Mint

A figure in mint condition is a small proof that not everything beautiful gets used up.