These 18th-century porcelain figures depict common characters of the Italian theater form called commedia dell’arte. The characters symbolized different human traits and were portrayed in broad caricature for heightened comic effect. On the left is Harlequin, the cunning valet later popularized as a clown. On the right is Columbine, a servant or wife who represented intelligence and wisdom that often went ignored.
Nadia MacKenzie/The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
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