Early Staffordshire pottery figures were dazzlingly displayed last month on John Howard's stand at the International Fine Art and Antiques Show in New York. John does not merely wave the flag for early figures; rather, he elevates them to Fine Art, and appreciative buyers snapped up some choice examples. I was lucky enough to be at the show when it opened, and I have never seen a more breathtaking selection of early figures offered for sale.
One of John's very first sales at the show were the two remarkable pearlware ladies below. I have not previously seen their like, so I was really glad to be able to see them in person. The figures are large at around 14 inches, but they are not gigantic. In other words, the size was very pleasing to the eye, nothing clunky at all. And those colors!
One of John's very first sales at the show were the two remarkable pearlware ladies below. I have not previously seen their like, so I was really glad to be able to see them in person. The figures are large at around 14 inches, but they are not gigantic. In other words, the size was very pleasing to the eye, nothing clunky at all. And those colors!
Photo courtesy John Howard
The backs are almost as glorious as the fronts are they not?
Photo courtesy John Howard.
The two ladies are identical figures rather than a pair. John bought them together and believes they have stood together all their lives. As no other example is known, I am sure he is right. He insisted on selling them as a pair, and fortunately the person who wanted them felt the same way. There is something about the way those two look at each other. Who could separate them?
Returning home, I am still haunted by these lovely ladies and wonder who they were meant to be. I can pin them on no obvious classical personage from the past. The closest I can come is the statue below, a "statue of a priestess or muse from a Hellenistic original" in the Capitoline Museum, Rome.
Returning home, I am still haunted by these lovely ladies and wonder who they were meant to be. I can pin them on no obvious classical personage from the past. The closest I can come is the statue below, a "statue of a priestess or muse from a Hellenistic original" in the Capitoline Museum, Rome.
Photo (C) Capitoline Museum.
The statue once stood in Hadrian's villa. The museum's record notes that "the head is ancient but does not belong to the statue, which in reality showed a male Egyptian priest holding a canopic jar." Seems that even in ancient times restorers got it wrong!
Is it possible that a print showing this statue inspired John's two luster ladies?--after all, images of many classical works we no longer think too important were very much in vogue circa 1800. I am not certain. I am hoping my friend Bob Carde, the sleuth extraordinaire who has nailed the identity of other elusive figures for me, will read this and shed some light. But if you know, please tell! (myrna.schkolne@gmail.com, or comment below.)
Is it possible that a print showing this statue inspired John's two luster ladies?--after all, images of many classical works we no longer think too important were very much in vogue circa 1800. I am not certain. I am hoping my friend Bob Carde, the sleuth extraordinaire who has nailed the identity of other elusive figures for me, will read this and shed some light. But if you know, please tell! (myrna.schkolne@gmail.com, or comment below.)
