Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840

I have always had a 'thing' for elephants. Not in the cutsey way, with elephant knick-knacks scattered around the house. My admiration for these noble beasts is deep-seated and rooted in the fact that I spent my childhood on the outskirts of one of Africa's most important natural elephant reserves. One of my early memories was watching the elephants feed daily at a designated spot on the reserve.  The surrounding countryside was citrus country, and zillions of unwanted oranges were dumped periodically for the elephants to graze. One day, one big fella just ate and ate and ate....I have never forgotten his insatiable appetite, and the way he glared at his two-footed observers with disdain. When I went back to the reserve recently, I was amused to notice a sign forbidding citrus fruit in the area. Apparently, the elephants' man-induced appetite for oranges has led them to running rampant through citrus groves in pursuit of that juicy delight....so an attempt is being made to wean them from orange juice. A twelve step program? Oh what a mess we humans make when we intervene.

I have long admired the elephant with a castle on its back in the Willett Collection at Brighton Museum. The collection is my favoritest ever. About 25 years ago, I visited it with one of those then-new inventions, a giant videocamera. When raising my family dictated escape, I watched that video. The Willett Collection, which I have since visited very many times, is seared on my brain. The large elephant is one of my favorite objects, and he is pictured in my book. Over the years, I found another one....but he was an albino elephant. It just didn't do it. And then I found a third, in a private collection that I photographed. That elephant came to auction a while ago, but I couldn't do the necessary. Why did I hesitate? Well, firstly, the condition report had me queasy. And there was an opening on one side of the castle for a watch. The opening was on the elephant's "best" side (the side his trunk flips toward)....not what I had in mind. I had waited SO long, but I don't compromise. I can't own everything on earth. I want the things I own to be right for me.

By some miracle, not so long after I passed on this elephant, another one came to auction. Here he is.

And yes, he is mine! When I glimpsed this elephant, I knew we were meant for each other. Love at first sight! The auction was way up north in Scotland....sort of near the North Pole!  Because of the time difference, I got up in the wee hours of the morning to bid. The auction was fun to listen to because it was an  old- fashioned, local auction. Things that I could just imagine sitting in a New York emporium with fat price stickers went for a song. "A malting shovel. Who would want that?" asked the auctioneer...but he knocked it down for a few pounds. "Nurse McGregor's bag. Imagine how many people she has seen in and out of the world with this" ....and so it went. Three lots away, bidding reached the major leagues. Something was knocked down for GBP68, and it took forever as the bids crawled up there. And need I tell you that I paid even more for my elephant, so the bidding took a long, long time. 

Here's the surprise: when the bidding for my elephant ended, the room broke into applause. That's for you, said the very nice lady on the phone. Well, I thought you had to spend millions on an Impressionist painting to get applause at auction. Applause  for a Staffordshire figure? Unheard of!  The applause was followed by a round of laughter (probably as the seller danced a celebratory jig!) The room was very excited.

So why the excitement? Well apparently the elephant had been consigned  as part of a TV series called The Antiques Road Trip, where people buy things cheaply and then see what they can get for them at auction. My elephant had cost the seller a whole GBP8. Of course he was ecstatic. But collecting is not a zero sum game. It is possible to have two winners, and on that day both he and I were happy. The show will be aired in January, so if you live in the UK you will see it. Meanwhile, you can see the elephant here first.