Collecting FINE FIGURES

‘Sculpture was seen as the most important art of the Victorian age – there was sculpture on buildings, sculpture in parks, sculpture everywhere, and Parian brought public sculpture to private interiors,’ says expert Paul Atterbury, explaining why Parian – a new ceramic material developed in the 1840s to make multiple small casts of well-known sculptures – became such a huge hit.

Despite its popularity, no one knows who invented Parian. Was it Minton or Copeland, or was it a now forgotten company called T & R Boote?