Description:Figure of a peacock, earthenware, majolica, modelled and signed by Paul Comolera in 1873.
The bird is perched on a tall, rocky plinth around which coils a fruiting and blossoming branch, with two colourful toadstools growing below.
His distinctive tail feathers are picked out in brown, ochre, green and deep cobalt blue, and his neck is also blue.
This figure, modelled by Paul Comolera in 1873, is a fine life-sized depiction of a peacock, and is one of the most renowned of Mintons products.
The figure, decorated with majolica was fired all in one piece, and consitutes a notable technical achievement.
One of Minton's peacocks was famously shipwrecked off the coast of Australia in 1878, when a ship carrying an example to exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne was wrecked.
However, the crate containing the peacock was washed ashore, and the peacock has remained in Australia ever since. It is currently on display at the Flagstaff Hill Museum, Warnambool.