Reed & Barton John Rogers Groups in Parian

In 1976, Reed & Barton, the internationally known silversmiths located in Taunton, Massachusetts, worked with some of the country’s leading authorities on Rogers Groups and re-created, in miniature, six of the original groups in porcelain bisque, or parian.

According to the literature accompanying each of the figures, "the creation of Reed & Barton’s series of six Rogers Groups was a story in itself, one covering nearly three years and three continents before all exacting standards of quality and craftmanship were met. Reed & Barton’s Rogers Groups porcelains were individually hand-fired, hand-assembled and hand-finished by top porcelain artisans. Approximately one-third the size of Rogers’ original statuary, the Reed & Barton porcelains are exact copies, authentic in every minute detail, including the lettering." Reed & Barton noted they were particularly indebted to the sculptor’s namesake and great-grandson, John Rogers, for his invaluable assistance and cooperation during the design and manufacturing process.

Reed & Barton selected the following six groups for the first edition of Rogers Groups: Neighboring Pews, Checkers Up at the Farm, Coming to the Parson, Weighing the Baby, School Days and The Favored Scholar. Each group was between 7 ¾" and 8" high. Although Reed & Barton represented that these were the first six in a series, no further groups were forthcoming, apparently a reflection of the lack of commercial viability of the project. There were 750 examples made of each of the six pieces.

Each group was marked with a blue ink stamp on its underside with the words, "Rogers Group by Reed & Barton Porcelain Bisque." Each figure came individually packaged in a Styrofoam form that was then inserted into a cobalt blue identifying box. An eight-page brochure describing the series came in an envelope included within each box.