Royal Doulton | Genevieve | HN1962 | Bone China | Designed by Leslie Harradine | 1941–1975

Royal Doulton | Genevieve | HN1962 | Bone China | Designed by Leslie Harradine | 1941–1975

A winter figure, but not a restrained one — Harradine understood that warmth, in porcelain, is often a matter of colour rather than season.

Genevieve HN1962 was designed by Leslie Harradine and produced from 1941 to 1975, a thirty-four year run that places it among the more sustained and commercially successful models within the Royal Doulton figure range. Harradine’s figures are defined less by narrative than by control of form — and Genevieve remains one of the most immediately recognisable of his designs, precisely because of its balance between volume, surface, and colour.

The figure depicts a standing woman in a full off-the-shoulder ball gown, the skirt opening outward in broad, tiered movement to a deeply fluted hem. The dress is finished in a rich crimson ground, worked with lighter brushstrokes of rose and warm pink that create depth across the folds — a painterly treatment characteristic of Doulton’s better colourways. The bodice is gathered and softly structured, with a small floral spray at the waist introducing a secondary palette of lavender and rose.

She holds a white fur muff before her — the most detailed element of the composition — painted with a delicate arrangement of pink and blue flowers and edged in fine black lace. The contrast is deliberate: a winter accessory rendered with the lightness of spring decoration. Her blonde hair is set beneath a wide-brimmed hat, the underside glazed in soft green, the crown in cobalt blue with a black ribbon detail. The base is a shallow scalloped form in white.

The underside carries the Royal Doulton lion and crown backstamp with “Made in England / Bone China,” the name “Genevieve,” and a hand-painted decorator’s mark.

The figure is in mint condition, with no chips, cracks, crazing or restoration. The colours remain vivid and unfaded throughout.

Key Details

• Maker: Royal Doulton, Burslem, England
• Figure: Genevieve
• HN Number: HN1962
• Designer: Leslie Harradine
• Issued: 1941–1975
• Material: Bone china
• Height: 18.5 cm
• Weight: 479 g
• Condition: Mint — no chips, cracks, crazing or restoration
• Colourway: Red/crimson dress
• Painter’s mark: Present

Collector Appeal

Genevieve is not among the rarest Royal Doulton figures, but its distinctive silhouette and crimson colourway give it an established place within the Harradine range. The hand-painted muff adds a focal decorative feature.

The long production run means the model is regularly found; this example is in mint condition, with clean colour and no restoration. For collectors building a representative Harradine grouping, Genevieve functions as a cornerstone piece — visually assertive, technically well-executed, and immediately legible within the Doulton canon.

The muff draws the eye first, but it is the control of the whole — the balance between colour, volume, and restraint — that keeps it there.