This rather weird and wondrous vase below resides in the Mythical Animals folder in my archive. The beasties to either side are shpinxes--Egyptian sphinxes to be exact, with definite lions haunches. I have never seen this vase in the flesh, but I do think it fantastic.

The pair below, formerly in the stock of Aurea Carter, seem to have come from the same molds.

I snapped the picture below in the Reserve Collection at The Potteries Museum. As you see, here we again have the same vase but the top was adapted to shorten it.

I know of no other enamel-painted shpinxes. I might have thought the beastie below was a sphinx, but the scales seem to suggest she is more of a mermaid of sorts. She is decorated in underglaze colors.

The figure below in the VIctoria and Albert Museum has a very similar face to the figure above. Perhaps the same hand fashioned them. This time, the figure has a definite fish tail, so it is indeed a mermaid. And this time it is enamel painted.

These mythical marvels are not the only myths of the ceramics world. Mythical is the word that comes to mind when I see some of the descriptions of pottery being offered for sale on Internet auctions. I look at them with as much disbelief as I would look at a mermaid or sphinx masquerading as a living creature. As for the prices, sometimes they leave me speechless.

This figure sold with absolutely no mention of the fact that the head belongs to an entirely different figure! This head is off a little show woman, the sort that normally holds a tamborine. The unnatural angle, the color mismatch, and the deformed neck did not tip off the buyer!

This very-definitely twentieth century bull baiting was described as early nineteenth century. To top it, the man's arms were glued back on as were some of the feet. I didn't expect it to get any bids. What a fool I am! It sold for over GBP721 or $1184. Words simply fail me. 

How about these insignificant items described as "Continental pearlware." What precisely might that be? 

Described as a "rare Staffordshire tithe pig circa 1800/1820". Surely by now the whole world knows that this very, very common Kent offering is more like 1920.

Described as Staffordshire but almost definitely made in Asia.  Ah well, at least this time the seller did not claim great antiquity.

Mythical animals. Who needs them? Truth is stranger than fiction. You have only to look on the Internet to see the unbelievable.

I have concluded that many--perhaps the vast majority of--Staffordshire figures are one of a pair. Even figures that we think of as stand-alone singles frequently have companions. I have owned the two little Turks below for quite a while. Yes, I knew I should 'release' one onto the market, but I didn't know which to let go. They are both so charming, so they have kept each other company on my shelf.

Recently my too-slow brain made the connection between these Turks and a small female Turk in the collection of a friend.  As you see, they make a close enough pair.  

I am awfully pleased that I held on to both male Turks. Would I have kicked myself if I had parted with this gentleman in the pink jacket!  That being said, I am anything but a purist on pairs. I think many figures were made/painted singly, so I do tolerate minor mismatches.

Small figures make collecting fun. You can learn a lot--and buy a lot--without breaking your piggy bank.  I suspect that the two small figures below may be from the same pot bank, but time will tell. And I have yet to find a companion figure for either.

Currently, Hotlane Press is running a special promotion. You can buy both these books for $130 in the US.  As People, Passions, Pastimes, and Pleasures sells for $125, this is a good deal and a saving of $64.99 on the combined purchase. Click here to visit that site.

Many of you who have contacted me about book availability in the UK. I have just spoken to Schiffer and they tell me that my book is available at http://bushwoodbooks.co.uk through this year only. In January, Schiffer will be moving to a new distributor and there will be a disconnect period with no books.  So if you want a book now, please contact Bushwood Books....and please spread the word.

In Australia and New Zealand, I am told you can order through any bookstore. The distributor there is Peribo Pty Limited (61-0-2-9457-0011, info@peribo.com.au).

Thanks for your interest.

I sometimes tease a dealer acquaintance who has a large stock of Victorian figures and is forever trying to make up pairs. Alas, I am developing the same preoccupation!  I am increasingly aware that very many figures were designed as pairs, but whether they were SOLD as pairs remains a mystery. At the same time, I have come across a good number of figures that clearly are one of a pair or a set....and yet the companion figures remain elusive. Figures emblematic of the seasons are the most frustrating. When I find one, I expect there to be another three, but this is not always the case. Sometimes I can't find even one companion figure!

The figure of summer below is one of the favorites in my collection. She is definitely "Sherratt". Her "Sherratt" attributes are many, but the sprig of flowers on the base--in a shape that is specific to "Sherrratt"--seals the attribution. I love the button closure painted down the back of her dress. "Sherratt" was a large manufactory and produced an astounding array of figures, but this is the only "Sherratt" season that I have located.  

The figure of summer below is quite different and stands with a spill vase. Companion figures? None yet!  (Photo courtesy of Michael Goodacre)

We have the same issue with these two figures of winter. I can understand a circa 1820 clientele buying stand-alone figures of a lovely lady emblematic of summer...but winter?  You might think that this, the least appealing of seasons, would not be quite as commercial in figure form.  Right now, the two figures below are loners, and perhaps they were not intended as part of a set. 

The figure on the left (in the stock of Nestegg Antiques) is also a loner. I find it hard to believe that more were not made in this set.

The figure of winter below is of the commonest form, but note the unusual scroll (for want of a better word) behind him.  I haven't seen companion figures with this scroll. In fact, I have only seen this scroll on much larger figures of the seasons. (Photo courtesy of Phil Masters)

Below is one of the larger seasons, with scroll. All the larger seasons with scrolls are female figures. This figure is emblematic of spring. I think the scroll comes from the same molds as used for the scroll on the little winter above.

Note that this figure bears the Walton mark on the back.  In People, Passions, Pastimes, and Pleasures, you can see a full set of four Walton seasons (spring is just like this lady)...but they all have bocages.  I think several pot banks used these molds of the seasons. The figures occur with and without bocages, with varying bases, and sometimes in a Pratt palette. As for the Walton spring with a scroll, I have yet to find a companion figure. But, then again, she is quite lovely and may have been sold as a single.

Some of you may think I get ridiculously excited at 'discovering' a pair, especially as it looks so easy and obvious when I show you a picture of the end result. The lone singles, such as the few that you see here, are endlessly frustrating, and perhaps that explains my happiness when I finally make a match!

This rather small image of Vol. 2 is currently on Amazon UK. I am guessing the book will be available around June/July 2014....with two more to follow!

For the longest time, I have been less than confident about the identity of the gentleman in the figure below. I have been reasonably sure that he is the Baroque painter, Anthony van Dyck--but I wouldn't have bet on it.

I became more confident that the figure is indeed Van Dyck when I discovered the pair of figures below. The gentleman on the right is of the same form, and he has artists brushes and a palette at his feet--just as you would expect for one of the foremost painter of those times.  But what of the figure at the left?  Again, I was plunged into uncertainty. His body is just like that of his companion, but his head is different, and instead of artists paraphernalia, he has a sword. 

This week, I was plowing through Fire and Form, the new English Ceramic Circle publication on the Baroque and its influence on ceramics. I must admit I have put off this reading task because much of what the ECC publishes is about porcelain. I know I must read about porcelain figures of all sorts because they often teach me about earthenware figures, so I curled up on the sofa with Johnny Be Goode beside me for comfort. Imagine my delight in discovering that the figure on the left has an earlier porcelain look-alike, and it depicts yet another great Baroque painter, Peter Paul Rubens.  Both apparently are after mid-eighteenth century Bow porcelain models, which are, in turn, after John Michael Rysbrack. I think an intermediary plaster may have assisted with their modeling. The mystery is solved, and how appropriate that these two Flemish gentleman were modeled as a pair. 

Yesterday, I glanced through the forthcoming auction offerings, and my eye hit the grotesque figure below, described as Shakespeare.

Shakespeare this is not! Instead, we have a figure of Van Dyck that seems to have been given a new and very ugly head. I am thinking he has a new right arm too as well as a new left hand. Oh dear!  When figures like this get damaged, the remains pose a problem. It is very difficult to put something that is a piece of history into the trash, but what do you do with it? Had this figure been perfect, it would have not been the most commercially appealing figure, but headless and armless....I am not wise enough to know what should have been done with it.  I leave that to the owner to decide!

I was thrilled to discover this set of the Four Seasons in a UK collection. From left, they are Winter, Summer, Spring, and Autumn, and I know of no other set of this form. Viewed from the back, you can see that the figures were made without bocages. Don't you like the ribbon on Spring's bonnet?

I think that these Seasons may have come from the same pot bank as the shepherd and shepherdess below.  As you see, the molds for Autumn and Spring were also used for the shepherd and shepherdess. I have dubbed this Group of related figures from some unknown pot bank the Blue Group--and you can find their shared attributes specified in Volume 1 of my new book, to be released later this month.

Alongside is another shepherd-shepherdess pair from the same molds, but this time with bocages that are quite specific to the Blue Group. Also, they have the blue bases that this Group sometimes favored.

As you read this, are you thinking that sets and pairs like these just don't come on the market? On the whole, you are right, but a good number of lovely single figures appear routinely, and with a bit of patience you can find the mate or mates. When you pull this off, it is thrilling. Believe it or not, both shepherd and shepherdess pairs were acquired as singles by their owners.

As I looked through Andrew Dando's Exhibition (currently on line), I saw at least two figures that are candidates for match-making. Andrew has a shepherd-piper just like the figure on the right in the pair below. I confidently attribute this figure to John Dale. The floral sprigs on the base are specific to Dale and establish the attribution. Other Dale features include the jagged edges to the spill vases and the squarish face.  The companion female figure exhibits the same characteristics.  If you think the pair below have always lived together, think again. I know that the collector acquired first the boy and then the girl to make his pair. They couldn't be prettier. Truly a match made in heaven--and Andrew's figure gives you the opportunity to try the same thing. 

Andrew also has a small male gardener, just like the male gardener on the right below. I own the pair that I show here, and I can assure you that I bought them several years apart.  I bought the girl first because I was attracted to the unusual bocage, and the boy came along later. They do make a sweet pair.

If you are tempted to set about match making, pick worthy pieces for matching. Don't buy a bashed up little figure and spend forever searching for a mate. Buy a good quality or uncommon figure, and then keep your eyes open. As a rule of thumb, a pair is worth about three times the price of a single, so finding the companion figure typically gives you a pair at a bargain price.