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
Boys playing cricket
This is a pair of Staffordshire figures of unidentified boys playing cricket, standing 6 ½” and 6 ¾” tall, dating to around 1850.
Tom King and Dick Turpin
This is a fine pair of Staffordshire figures of Tom King and Dick Turpin, probably originating from a theatrical production. Note the four separately moulded legs on each horse.
Artabanes
This is a theatrical figure representing an actor in the role of Artabanes, from the opera Artaxerxes. The figure stands 11 3/4” tall, dates to approximately 1830-1840, and is very rare. There is a dagger in his right hand, part of the blade being hidden beneath his sash. The interior and the edging of his coat are fully lined with ermine.
Napoleon III with Prince Albert
This is a figure of Napoleon III with Prince Albert, each with a drum on the ground and to the side. The figure stands 10 ¾” and dates to about 1854.
A pair of clowns
This is a fine pair of Staffordshire clowns, both standing 6 ½” tall, dating to circa 1860. Each is wearing pantaloons, with the figure on the left holding a cane.
Scottish hunter
This is an interesting example of a Scottish hunter, wearing kilt and underglaze blue coat, with a dog at his knee and a rifle resting near his right hand. The figure stands 14 ¼” tall and dates to about 1860.
