In honor of Thanksgiving, being celebrated in the United States today, I show you, of course, a turkey. This fine fowl (4.3 inches tall) is the only enamel-painted pearlware turkey I have recorded, and it comes to us courtesy of the Hunt Collection in which it resides.

Who made this turkey? I have no way of proving an attribution, but I have a strong gut feeling that Samuel Hall was the potter. As you enjoy your festive turkey this holiday, think back to a simpler time, when the arrival of a mere bird at a zoo drew crowds numbering into the tens of thousands. 

The pearlware GRECIAN & DAUGHTER figure group below is far from common, but it is so shocking in its own way that most of us who have collected for a while recall seeing it, if only in a picture. It can definitely be attributed to the "Sherratt" pot bank.

The group below is made from the same molds, but the differences are apparent. Whatever happened to the bocage, you might ask.  And why so little color? All that white, unpainted pot is not what we normally see with early figures. This group is spot-on correct, but it was made a little later. It too can be attributed to the "Sherratt" pot bank. 

We think of nineteenth-century Staffordshire figures as falling into two groups: 

1. Those made before about 1840 are detailed in their modeling and coloring and often sport bocages.
   
2. Those made after 1840 are simpler, using fewer molded parts, no bocages, and a simpler color palette.

But of course, the divisions are not quite this stark. At midnight December 31 1839, all did not change! Change is evolutionary and so styles evolved gradually over many years. As a result, we have some figures that I describe as "transitional." In the case of  "Sherratt" figures--named for Obadiah Sherratt, the potter we think responsible for the figures we dub "Sherratt"---the pot bank was operating in the 1820s and continued to circa 1860. By then, it had changed hands within the family, passing at Obadiah's death in 1842 into the hands of his son, Hamlet, and then his widow, Martha. Of course, styles and tastes evolved considerably over this lengthy time period.

I believe the second GRECIAN DAUGHTER is a transitional group that was made a little later than the first. The body is whiter because earthenware bodies generally got whiter as clay mixes improved. The tufts of green in lieu of bocage leaves were simply an attempt to cater to changing tastes.

The two cows below, both from the "Sherratt" pot bank, illustrate the same point. The first has a typical "Sherratt" bocage with oak leaves and mayflowers.

The second appears to have a pearlware body but it has no bocage leaves. Instead, this transitional figure has those same tufts of green that we saw on the GRECIAN & DAUGHTER group above.  

I remember how thrilled I was when I got my first Dale figure. The figure, a little lady musician titled GUITAR PLAYER, nestled comfortably in the palm of my hand, and she seemed to draw me into the blissful contentment of her teeny isolated world. I bought her at auction, and unfortunately a lot of cruddy figures came with her. A little while later, I found her male companion in a friend's collection. Last year, we did a deal that united the pair finally.  Both are impressed "I. DALE BURSLEM". 

John Dale made the most delightful pearlware figures between approximately 1818 and 1838. Some are marked, but many are not. Because Dale figures have some very distinctive features, it is often relatively easy to label an unmarked figure as "definitely Dale". Fortunately, the features supporting a Dale attribution are easily recognizable--you can find all the details in Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, Vol. 1. Over the years, I have owned several Dale figures in various states of disrepair to help me build my knowledge base. Sometimes, they are marked, as is the case with the SHEPHERD on the right below. More often, they are unmarked, like the boy-with-dog on the left. Yes, I know boy-with-dog is missing most of the bocage, but I still think him lovely and I had to have an example of the flower on the base---a Dale feature---for my reference collection.

Doesn't the cheerful apple green that Dale often used on his bases make your heart sing? Such a happy color--in fact, the whole Dale color palette is particularly pretty. And to top it all, Dale figures are usually gorgeous. Clearly, I am not alone in admiring them. This past week, John Howard added two "definitely Dale" selections to his stock. Neither was inexpensive--yet both sold right away!

John's amazing Dale garniture, below, has gone to a new home--and I know of more than one other collector who was contemplating a purchase but was pipped at the post, so to speak.  Had I not emptied my pockets for the "Sherratt" dogs I wrote about last week, you could have added my name to the list.  Is the garniture not stunning? Note that the little shepherd looks very like the boy-with-dog above, He has that typical square Dale face.

This garniture is unique. I have recorded three other examples of the central spill holder, but none is as pretty as this. I have not otherwise seen the cow spills that sit to either side. Note that the bases of the cow spill vases are quite differently shaped from each other.

In my small sheep collection, I have a lone Dale ram--again, quite definitely Dale. I do love the rather goofy appearance of this very engaging Dale beasty. Of course, he is from the same molds as the ram in the Dale garniture above.

John's other major Dale find was this pair of fantastic felines. Like the garniture, they are known only from this example--but I have seen single animals from the same molds. Truly stunning are they not? Although Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, Vol. 3  has now been printed (I have my advance copy on my desk), I did miraculously manage to include this pair among the felines in that volume. A collector friend had old photos of this unique pearlware pair that he had taken many years ago, and I was able to Photoshop the images into shape.

Note the rows of toothlike indentations in the bases---as if a comb had been stuck into the wet clay. This is yet another Dale feature. 

I am happy that these extraordinary items so quickly found new homes. When quality surfaces, collectors usually grab it, and that was definitely so here. 

I was thrilled to spot this pair of dogs in a recent newsletter from John Howard.

The rainbow bases and the combination of bocage leaves and flowers establish a "Sherratt" attribution, quite definitely!  This pair is otherwise unrecorded. I have seen a single dog from the same molds titled "MIND DASH". I can't begin to guess what the companion dog's title might have been.

Lest you think this particular dog model is petite, think again. These pooches measure about 8 inches across the base and are shown here alongside my iPhone for comparison. For the record, this is not the new, larger iPhone that Apple recently introduced!

I will admit that I succumbed and bought John's pair of pooches. How could I not? They are as bright and beautiful as the day they were made, with great enamels that have withstood the test of time. As John and I looked at them and at other "Sherratt" figures on his display in New York, we both agreed that there is something indefinably beautiful about the "Sherratt" enamels. I think it is in the glaze. It is not too harsh and bright. Rather, it seems to melt right into the body of each figure. David Boyer was at my home this weekend and we too looked at a display of "Sherratt" figures, agreeing that "Sherratt" just has 'it'.

There is another pair of "Sherratt" dogs that I would love to own.

ROVER & VALLAY are clearly intended to be a pair. Instead, they live on either side of the Atlantic. I have united them on one occasion for a photo opp though!

The large "Sherratt" dogs are the stuff for dreams and wish lists because they are so hard to find. Relatively easier to find and more affordable are these tiny dog models, which I strongly suspect are also "Sherratt".

Very many of the large, composite "Sherratt" groups include a little dog. He is always a perky little fellow, always of the same form. Here you see him atop a box that can also be attributed to "Sherratt".