Highlander 1760 - 1770

The Derby Porcelain Manufactory made this small porcelain figure of a Highlander in England in the late 18th century. At the time, Scotland was still seen as a wild and untamed place by many in England. The figure’s elaborate costume, though, tells us something about how the English viewed the Scots. The colors are bright and the details are fussy, almost cartoonish. Instead of portraying the Highlander as a real person, the artist has turned him into a kind of exotic doll. It's worth remembering that the Derby Porcelain Manufactory was a commercial enterprise. Figures like this one were made to be sold, and they reflect the tastes and prejudices of the buying public. To understand the figure more fully, we might look at period literature, political cartoons, and other visual representations of the Scots. By placing the figure in its social and historical context, we can begin to understand what it meant to the people who made and consumed it.