A Parian porcelain bust of Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, her head turned to her right, her hair dressed with a chaplet of full blown roses, wearing a square-necked gown and raised on a turned socle.
 
The rose is a national emblem of England and symbol of purity. This Parian bust is from a marble bust of the same subject commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1861 and executed by the British sculptor Mary Thornycroft and according to the Art Journal on 1st April 1862, it had raised considerable interest because a few days before his death Prince Albert had been personally involved in the modelling of the clay cast ‘adding by his touches to the individual character of the bust’. Mary Thornycroft received her first royal commission in 1845 for a statue of Princess Alice. She carried out numerous works for the royal family, in particular busts and statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s children. Her works were much liked by Queen Victoria who often requested reduced reproductions in Parian ware, as it was the case for this particular bust.