'YOU DIRTY BOY!' A 19TH CENTURY TERRACOTTA FIGURAL GROUP AFTER GIOVANNI FOCARDI FOR PEARS SOAP

depicting an old woman fiercly scrubbing a dirty boy, a bowl for water at her feet, raised on a canted, rectangular base inscribed 'YOU DIRTY BOY' and 'G. FOCARDI London 1878' / 'MANUFACTURED BY THE WATCOMBE POTTERY CO. ST MARY CHURCH / SOUTH DEVON' / 'PUBLISHED MAY 1 1878, COPYRIGHT ENGLAND FRANCE GERMANY ITALY DENMARK UNITED STATES',

65cm high

The original marble sculpture was made by the Italian artist Giovanni Focardi and shown at the 1878 Paris Exhibition. The subject, described as “a gnarled old woman fiercely scrubbing a very dirty boy” is a scene the artist chanced upon while staying at a hotel in Preston, the sculptor reputedly threw buckets of cold water over the small boy that he based the figure on in order to create a true to life expression of discomfort.