A Staffordshire pearl ware bust of Francois-Marie Arouet ‘Voltaire’. Impressed Voltaire to base. Circa; Late 18th/early 19th century

Description

A Staffordshire pearl ware bust of Francois-Marie Arouet ‘Voltaire’. Impressed Voltaire to rear of the base.

Francois-Marie Arouet, known by his nom de plum ‘Voltaire’, was a French enlightenment writer, philosopher, satirist and historian. He was famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity and of slavery and was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and separation of Church and State. He was a prolific writer producing plays, novels, poems, essays and histories and even scientific expositions. His best known work ‘Candide’ is a novella (short novel) that comments on, criticizes and ridicules many events, thinkers and philosophers of his time. He adopted the name ‘Voltaire’ in 1718 following his incarceration at the Bastille following trouble with the Authorities  for critiques of the Government. One of his most famous quotes was ‘Superstition sets the whole world in flames, philosophy quenches them’. One quotation which he was incorrectly credited with writing but which is often cited as a Voltaire quotation is ‘I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it’

Circa; Late 18^th/early 19^th century

Size; height 16cm

Condition; in good condition, just a few scuffs and paint flakes.

Provenance; the late John Parrott collection. Manheim NY label