Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840

Enamel-painted Staffordshire figure groups similar to the one below occur  titled COCK FIGHTERS, but just look at the sweet scene and the lady cuddling a chicken of sorts. Hardly redolent of the vicious cock fighting ring, is it?  I have owned this figure for quite a while--originally purchased from John Howard--and it continues to give me pleasure. I love the woman's glorious hat. Interestingly, the bocage leaves are single sided. In other words, the back of each bocage leaf is flat--it has not been paired up with a similarly molded leaf to form a double-sided structure. All in all, a charming figure.

Square-based versions of this figure are never as finely decorated or modeled. They become rather mundane objects.  But I was tickled to note a Pratt ware version on Andrew Dando's site. For the uninitiated, Pratt ware figures are colored by applying colors UNDER the glaze. Enamel-painted figures are colored by painting colors ON the glaze.  The latter technique enables a broader color palette to be used but it requires additional firing--resulting in more expensive wares, at that time.

I don't like most Pratt ware figures. Because they were in their day less expensive, they often are what you would expect of the lower end of the market: crude little things. But there are exceptions, and I have succumbed to fine examples in the past. At their best, these figures glow because the glaze is right on top, no enamel painted over to dull it. The figure can look as good as the day it was made. The trouble is finding these gems.

So my enamel-painted cockerels group has a beautiful Pratt ware counterpart, made from the same molds. If I didn't already have my group, I might be tempted. But I am sure this figure too will find a loving home.

I collect enamel-painted earthenware figures but, as this blog posting and the previous one show, I am fascinated by the linkages between 'my' wares and all others, both pottery and porcelain.  Their interconnections shouldn't surprise me because we are dealing with quite a short time period in which these treasures were wrought.

And for all of you who write me about my beloved pup and the blog's co-author, Johnny Be Goode. Here he is at 4 months and a few days, doing what he loves best: chewing. I am in love!

My week got off to a great start when I received an email from a collector who owns a Ralph Wood figure with an impressed number, 163. The figure is enamel painted. I have added it to our Ralph Wood Figures page (under the MAKERS tab on the top menu bar.)

So why is this so earthshaking? Two reasons:

• Nobody has recorded a RW figure impressed 163, be it in enamels or colored glazes. So we have expanded the list of RW figures.
• Our research had attributed a look-alike of this figure to Ralph Wood, based on its attributes alone. Clearly, our methodology is correct!  That figure can now be found number A163 in Section II of RW figures.

And, tantalizingly, the owner of RW 163 also believes he has 162 somewhere. He is looking. Stay tuned for updates!

The offering du jour can be found under MAKERS  on the top menu bar. John Dale's work has been added to the list.  Dale figures are so rare, so thanks to all who have enabled Malcolm Hodkinson and I to use photos so we could get this done.  

To whet your appetite, here is one of my favorite Dale figures. And you thought the guitar was a modern instrument??

Please read the update to the 7/15/2010 posting "Imitation is the best form of flattery."  Thanks to the readers who contacted me on this figure--and if you know anything about William Adams & Sons' design source for  Caledonia ware, please, please, please share it with us by emailing me. 

Many of you ask when my next book will be published. I am ready, but I must recoup the costs of my first book before I can proceed with another. If Staffordshire figures bring you pleasure, you will enjoy the 300+ gorgeous figures in my book, all photographed in color.  And if you frequently ask me questions, owning a copy of my book will help you immensely.

See my book here, or email me if you have questions.

The Internet makes our world smaller, so I hear from people from as far afield as Norway and New Zealand. Staffordshire figure collectors are everywhere.  I love connecting with collectors, but somehow last Monday's issues were vexing. My mailbox was flooded with enquiries from people who had bought figures that didn't resemble any Staffordshire I had ever seen, and from people who had bought very modern reproductions. What really pushed my button though: two eBay listings of what purported to be Ralph Wood figures. Coincidentally, both figures depicted Charity. Very common figures these are, and neither had a single attribute linking it to Ralph Wood. 

After many emails, the seller of this figure removed "Ralph Wood" from her listing title but left it in the body of the auction. You have my humble opinion. Have a look at the information on Ralph Wood (under the MAKERS tab on the top menu bar of this site) and judge for yourself. For now, you can see the auction by clicking here.

And another seller had the same idea with his figure, described as "not signed on the underside of the base but undoubtedly is the work of Ralph Wood of Burslem." This seller took my concern seriously. He read our pages here on Ralph Wood, and promptly amended his listing. Thank you, thank you! My faith in humanity is restored....at least until I see the next repro listed as The Real Thing. You can see this auction    here.

Because I check my email before switching off my light at night, Monday ended well. That night, I couldn't believe the news. A collector had read my Ralph Wood pages and he had TWO numbered figures to add to the list. In doing so, the numbering system got extended. It now reaches 170.

Each of these figures has a RW impressed number! Elijah is number 169 (a number thought to be on a figure of Fortune or Plenty) and the Widow is 170.  No RW figure has been recorded with a number higher than 169, so our list has grown.

It may take a village to do some things, but it takes a world of enthusiastic collectors to build our knowledge base about Staffordshire figures. A million thanks to the collector who shared this information with us--and thank you to all of you who share your collections, your new purchases, and your questions.

To the dealer who told me no more than 3 people in the world are interested in Ralph Wood: you would be amazed at the emails I have had as a result of the Ralph Wood pages!

See BELIEVE IT on the top menu bar? Beneath there is a link to FAKE ALERT.
Go to it and read the update. Beware: our naughty eBay seller 1079edmund has changed his identity to Toby-20.

When an eBay seller has a private listing, your identity is protected. That might sound good, but believe me the seller is not looking out for your best interests. Instead, he is ensuring that there is no way to track you from the feedback on your purchase. In other words, if you purchase an incorrectly described item and a more knowledgable eBayer wants to tell you to ask for a refund, you cannot be contacted.

Thought you might want to see this particularly spiffy figure. Is the dog not lovely?

The floral garlands around the base are unique to "Sherratt". Also, the bocage leaves and flowers support a "Sherratt" attribution.  This figure is surprisingly rare. I have recorded only two others, both formerly in the stock of the late Jonathan Horne.

You can enlarge these images--you know how to do it!  Although neither of these figures has those tell-tale floral garlands on the base, they are definitely "Sherratt". I think the raised hand on the left hand figure has been restored--note that it holds a bird rather than a horn.

Although I have seen only these three early versions of this figure group, I have seen later renditions. Seems that the group inspired subsequent generations of potters. The group was made, with adaptations, into the 20thC.

In the order they are placed I think these figures are:

• Lloyd of Shelton c1840
• Late 19thC
• 2OthC
• Quite modern porcelain.

Is the deterioration in design and decoration  not amazing?  So if you want this figure, hold out for The Real Thing.

Thanks to readers who provided these pictures of Staffordshire figure of our Scottish hunter, but in a porcelain-type body. I believe these figures are ca 1840. Nice quality. Possibly not as tall, but I am not certain.

And, most exciting news: a reader drew my attention to this transfer printed plate bearing the likeness of our Scottish hunter.

The plates were made by William Adams & Sons as part of their Caledonia pattern series and are marked as such. I believe the plates were made in the 1830-40 period, but what came first?  Did the figures copy the plates or did the plates copy the figures? Or, more likely, do they share a common design source? If so, what is it? If you have any information that can help us learn, please email me.

Staffordshire figures of the Vicar and Moses originated with a model decorated in colored glazes and made by Ralph Wood circa 1790.  Crisply modeled renditions are lovely and can positively glow.  Generally, these figures are about 9" tall.

The figure group was produced in enamel colors by other unknown potters in the early 1800s. Here is such an example. The modeling remains vigorous. The height is around 9''--same size as the colored glaze example.

But now we start down a slippery slope. It seems these figure groups were produced perhaps into the 20thC. Examples occur that just don't appear to be early. The colors and glazes are not quite what they should be, and the group always seems particularly lifeless. Nothing humorous or engaging here. The group illustrated is coming up for auction in the UK this month, cataloged as LATE 19thC. Hallelujah! Credit to the auction house, Mellors and Kirk, for not claiming an earlier date, as so many other vendors do.

I routinely see Vicar and Moses groups. From a picture, I can often deduce they are suspicious. But there is one example that is very wrong, yet it has lots of people fooled. This enamel-painted version bears an incised  "R WOOD" and the date 1794.

The mark purports to be that of Ralph Wood, but Ralph Wood's mark just doesn't look like this. To see the mark, which is always impressed rather than incised, click here. Also, Ralph Wood NEVER dated his figures. This is an obvious attempt to delude! Note the letters 'S' in "Moses" are formed backwards, also no doubt an attempt to impart the naivete associated with early wares

When was this figure group made? I don't know. Australia's Powerhouse Museum has an example that was donated in 1927, so we can assume all examples probably predate that. Circa 1900? Who's to say? We just don't know. But we do know that this figure is NOT an early 19thC Staffordshire figure.

The Internet bring us many curses and blessings. On the positive side of the equation: we now see very many more figures, so it is possible to be increasingly aware of this figure group's existence. But don't let it fool you!