A PAIR OF POLYCHROME-PAINTED AND GILT ROYAL WORCESTER PORCELAIN FIGURES: THE WATER CARRIERS
Worcester, England, 19th century

Comprising a male and female figure each positioned on a textured circular base, wearing Ottoman costumes, painted in pink and green with gilt details emphasising the hems and folds in the fabric, each figure's water jug decorated with repeating stylised pomegranate stems painted in gold, the male figure's jug with a harness, the male water carrier 20cm high, the female 21cm high.

The water carrier is an Orientalist trope ubiquitous within the imagery of Middle Eastern culture in the 19th century. It developed into a particular Leitmotif among Western artists and sculptors, as it appealed to the viewers living in industrialised countries, nostalgic for a simpler life.

Water carrying was and still is an official profession, and these individuals are also known as water sellers. As the name suggests, the individual carries water from the source delivering it to the village and makes his living by selling it as a door-to-door street vendor. Water sellers are often depicted in Orientalist works barefoot, effortlessly carrying their water jars. That said, the containers used in reality were rather large and heavy and often featured a harness so that they could be worn on the back of the carrier.

Possibly the potter's decision of leaving the bisque figures' skin uncoloured was a conscious attempt to link them to the Western-Caucasian race, following a common Orientalist trend of cross-cultural identification. Indeed, in the 19th century, it often happened that Western travellers and diplomats would request pictures to be taken whilst wearing local costumes (see, for example, Lord Byron), pretending to belong to the sites they visited.