In the early 18th Century, monkeys were a very popular subject in the applied arts, often dressed as humans, whose activities they appeared to imitate.
In the field of ceramics, monkey musicians were particularly popular, the British factories often copying those made by the famous Meissen modeller, J.J. Kaendler (1706-1775).
This figure however, crouching on a tree stump, is extremely rare and appears to be unrecorded in the Derby oeuvre.
