Figurine

This porcelain-headed figurine represents the Duchess of Kent, mother of Queen Victoria. It was part of a three-dimensional recreation of the opening ceremony of the 1851 Great Exhibition made for the Festival of Britain in 1951. The diorama was displayed in the Centenary Pavilion on the South Bank and featured around forty-six figurines and a scale model of the Crystal Palace. The figurines represented the royal family, court and household, the British government and international guests. The 'Hallelujah Chorus' from George Frideric Handel's 'Messiah', performed at the opening of the Great Exhibition, was played through loudspeakers in the Pavilion.

The Centenary Pavilion, a steel and glass structure, was built on a platform opposite the Shot Tower and was accessible to the public via a steel staircase. The Pavilion, along with most of the exhibits on the South Bank was the work of Cockade, a consortium of artists and designers who made models for a number of government departments and industrial enterprises. The Cockade firm was established by Sir Stephen Tallents, a former public relations officer at the GPO and the BBC. Other directors included Richard Guyatt, Professor of Graphic Arts at the Royal College of Art and Sir Hugh Casson, Director of Architecture for the Festival of Britain.

The contents of the Centenary Pavilion were designed by Christopher Ironside and Robert Wetmore. The detailed clothing for the figurines was produced by Marie Hill, Margot Burry and other textile artists at the Cockade studio.