Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840

The world is awash with reproductions, and I don't normally have anything positive to say about them, but these you will find interesting. In November, I got an email from Karen Thompson, a ceramics student at the Royal College of Art in London. Karen is studying for her MA and had a project requiring her to recreate a piece from the Victoria and Albert Museum's holdings. She chose that fabulous Staffordshire figure, 'The Death of Munrow'. Karen was struggling with the modelling because she had no images of the rear. I supplied some pictures...and recently the results popped into my email box. What a surprise! Karen had modeled 'The Death of Munrow' AND a response called 'The Death of Sainsburys', which is intended as a comment on Sainsbury's food chain and the predominance of supermarkets.

I think Karen has done an extraordinary job of creating three dimensional objects from pictures. Most importantly, along the way she fell in love with Staffordshire figures.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a great 'Death of Munrow' in its holdings--pictured above. It was a gift from a well-intentioned donor. Most museum holdings are in reserve, which means the public never gets to see them. Please DON"T leave your Staffordshire figures to a museum. The odds are they will live in a dark room. They will never bask in the sunlight or be caressed by loving hands. I guess if the Victoria and Albert had its 'Death of Munrow' accessible, Karen would not have had to ask me to help with pictures. I am so pleased that I could help, because almost two centuries after its creation, my 'Death of Munrow' has inspired the love of Staffordshire figures in yet another potential collector.

Karen's work can be seen on her website by clicking here.