An impressive 19th-century Minton majolica life-size figure of a peacock, modelled by Paul Comolera (French, 1818-1897), Mintons shape number 2045, the peacock with tail down, standing on a rock with flowering vines and toadstools, stamped 'Mintons' with date mark for 1876 under the base, 155 cm high, 75 cm wide.

Provenance:
Purchased in the 1930s by Jack Billmeir of Westbrook House, Elstead, Surrey
Thence by descent to the vendor

Footnote:
This impressive Minton majolica peacock, modelled by Paul Comolera from a live bird after he joined the firm in 1873, is one of the most renowned products produced by the factory. Manufactured in a single piece, it demonstrated Minton’s skill and daring to produce such a large figure.

Minton’s range of majolica wares had been launched under the direction of Léon Arnoux at the Great Exhibition of 1851, and the peacock later served as a showpiece in the firm’s international displays. An example was exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, in 1876 and at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878.

The most celebrated example is the so-called “Loch Ard peacock”. Packed aboard the clipper Loch Ard en route for exhibition in Australia, it survived the ship’s wrecking off the Victorian coast on 1 June 1878. It was recovered intact from its crate during the salvage operations and remained for many years with the Miller family, who were connected with the salvage. This example is now on display at the Flagstaff Hill Museum.

It is currently understood that only twelve examples are known to exist. Documented surviving examples include those at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent; Shuttleworth House, Old Warden; the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum, Warrnambool; the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney; and the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

The example now being offered at auction stood in the gardens of Westbrook House, in Elstead Surrey, during the time the house was owned by Jack Billmeir and his family between 1937 and 1994.

Jack Billmeir made his fortune in shipping with the Stanhope Shipping Company. During the Spanish Civil War and Second World War, his ships undertook audacious journeys defying blocked shipping routes to North Russia and Malta. He was known to have travelled on the ships to Russia himself, and his crew were awarded a total of 63 medals, including 15 Distinguished Service Crosses. Billmeir himself was awarded the CBE.

It is believed the peacock was purchased by Jack before the war, as there are stories that it survived the Blitz in his home in London. As Westbrook House was being used by the Canadian Military during the war, Jack did not move in until 1946. The peacock was installed in the Rose Garden, where the vendor remembers it being often surrounded by real peacocks.

After his passing in 1963, the house and peacock went to his wife Annie, and then on to his brother Eric, as Jack and Annie had no surviving children.

Eric Billmeir lived at Westbrook House alone, and he suffered a number of robberies in the early 1990s. On one occasion, the peacock was stolen, but was found damaged on Hankley Common, a short distance from the gardens. It was then taken to Royal Doulton, the owners of Mintons at the time, who, we understand, undertook the restoration using the original moulds. Sadly, no records have been found in the Mintons Archive at Stoke-on-Trent.

After Eric Billmeir died in 1994, the peacock was passed to the vendor’s parents, who knew the Billmeir family well, and they cherished the piece inside their home.

We would like to thank our vendor and Stoke-on-Trent City Archives for their assistance in our research.