Jenny Lind earned the nickname "Swedish Nightingale" for a remarkable voice that made her one of the most celebrated sopranos of the 19th century, performing across Sweden and the rest of Europe to audiences who, by most accounts, were thoroughly won over. Royal Worcester took that nickname literally rather than figuratively for this piece, modelling her as a bird-headed figure, half opera singer, half nightingale, a strange bit of Victorian visual wit that turns straightforward hero-worship into something closer to caricature.
"Confidence" was originally made as one half of a pair, paired with a companion piece called "Diffidence," the two presumably meant to sit together and play off each other's contrasting mood. This example is unmarked, though comparable pieces with printed marks have been dated to the early 20th century. It's white glazed porcelain throughout, letting the sculptural detail of the bird's head and the figure's dress carry the design without any additional colour competing for attention.
