Ellen Eliza Blight (Bright) ('Death of the Lion Queen')
- Artist: Unknown artist
- Date: circa 1850
- Medium: glazed earthenware
- Dimensions: 14 1/4 in. x 9 1/8 in. (361 mm x 231 mm) overall
- Portrays: Ellen Eliza Blight (Bright)
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is a tiny glazed earthenware figurine, about 14 inches by 9 inches – just enough to hold your hand over it. It shows Ellen Eliza Blight (Bright), the famous lion tamer who worked in England’s coastal towns in the mid‑nineteenth century.
The model faces forward with a stylised hat and neatly rolled sleeves, while two lions sit at her feet, their bodies sculpted with subtle detail. The glaze gives the skin a smooth sheen and the lions’ manes a gentle gloss that catches the light. The whole form is set on a low base, as if ready to stand on a mantelpiece or shop display.
Made in Staffordshire pottery, the figurine follows a tradition of popular portrait busts and small statues. Those pieces were often copied from prints seen in newspapers – so people could own a tiny version of a local celebrity at home. The artist is unknown, but the quality shows that the craftsmen of the time produced a faithful likeness.
This piece entered our Reference Collection in 2018 with help from the Art Fund and now sits among other nineteenth‑century ceramic portraits such as Tom Cribb and Billy Waters. It reminds us how everyday objects could carry the images of local heroes.
See it in person
Ellen Eliza Blight (Bright) ('Death of the Lion Queen') is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
