Giaffier and Zuleika
This figure portrays a highlight in Act I Scene 3 of William Dimond’s dramatised version of Byron’s poem “The Bride of Abydos”. Mr Barton and Miss Rosa Henry are the actors, and the production was probably that at Astley’s Ampitheatre in London, in April 1847.
The figure is circa 1847 and 12.75 inches high and can be found in Pugh, page E379, figure 60.
Who were Giaffier and Zuleika?
In Byron’s poem, Giaffier was a cruel and ruthless ruler in Turkey. His beautiful daughter Zuleika falls in love with Selim, a man adopted by her father as his own son. Selim reveals to Zuleika that his whole family were killed by Giaffier, vowing to revenge them and marry Zuleika. Disguised as a pirate, he ambushes Giaffier but is attacked by the ruler’s men. Selim tries to reach Zuleika, who is waiting for him in a secret location, but he dies on the beach, the fatal blow struck by Giaffier himself. When she hears of this, Zuleika dies of sorrow, leaving Giaffier to live out the rest of his life in solitude and unhappiness.
Dimond found Byron’s ending too gloomy and catastrophic so used a different scene from another of Byron’s poems!
More Figures of the month
Sir William John Codrington
This is a rare figure of Sir William John Codrington. He was a British army officer who eventually became a general and then Commander in Chief of British forces in the Crimean War.
Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny
This is a rare pair of early figures of Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny, characters in the Robert Burns play “Tam O’Shanter”, written in 1790.
A pair of giraffes
This is a fine pair of Staffordshire giraffes, seated below palm trees, each approximately 5 ½” tall. These figures are very rare, dating to approximately 1850.
Old Age
This is a fine pair of early Staffordshire figures portraying “Old Age”. They stand about 8 ¾” tall and date to about 1820.
A pair of pointers
This is a rare pair of Staffordshire foxhounds, pointers, or game dogs. Whatever one decides to call them, they are an unusual and very fine pair.
Reverand Edward Meyrick Goulburn
This is a rare Staffordshire figure of the Reverand Edward Goulburn, standing approximately 11 1/2” tall and dating to about 1860.
Membership
We warmly welcome new members – join us for free!
Wherever you are in the world, whether you are an experienced collector, a researcher interested in the folk art of England, or just someone who is intrigued by Staffordshire figures, please join us and get the rest of this year for free! Stay with us next year and pay an annual fee of £45 / $50 per household in January.
