Early Staffordshire pearlware and creamware pottery figures

Seasonal Surprises

6/1/2019

The Leeds Pottery, based in Yorkshire, is renowned for the creamware useful wares that it produced from the later eighteenth century. But it also potted figures in both pearlware and creamware that have distinctive facial features. I was excited to spot two figures with those very facial features in a mixed lot that came to auction recently. With the help of a collector friend, I was able to procure just these two six-inch beauties out of the lot.

antique staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Leeds Pottery, Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer, Seasons figure, Myrna Schkolne

The figures represent the seasons Autumn and Summer. I know of such figures only from the photograph below of a full set of Season, taken from Peter Walton's Creamware and Other English Pottery at Temple Newsam, Leeds.

My little Leeds couple are almost as pretty from the back.

Although I would bet they have been together always, their bases were finished differently beneath, and the one is impressed LEEDS POTTERY, while the other is not.

The detail in the modeling is impressive. Look at the fruit in her basket and those teeny grapes in her outstretched hand. (Please overlook the dirt!)

Also note the folds in his clothing and the wheat in his hand.

And, to top it, those typical Leeds faces are sweetly painted.

To my mind, the consistency of the glaze and enamels makes these figures especially delicious. There is a silkiness to them, and the enamels have melded softly with the glaze. Nothing brash, harsh, and glassy here. Rather, the feel is very like that of the Neale figures of the early 1780s, and I suspect that these Leeds figures are also rather early.

Speaking of Neale Seasons, I have long wanted to own a set of Neale Seasons with the Neale mark. I think that the marked examples predate the closely similar unmarked ones by a little bit, and their quality always seems finer. I suspect the only way to get a complete set is to assemble it, so I got started by acquiring the marked examples of Winter and Spring, below Are they not superb? Why do collectors and dealer overlook such tiny gems but eagerly pursue splashier figures?

antique staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Neale & Co, Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer, Seasons figure, Myrna Schkolne

Figures potraying the Seasons, are, to my mind, endlessly satifsying. They are almost all beautiful, and they are so very varied. If I was compelled to collect just one subject, the Seasons would be it!

Yet another Season came my way this year, when this 6.8" figure debuted on eBay. That comic face was, to my mind, instantly recognizable, because I had seen this lady before, in a partial set of the Seasons.

antique staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Ralph Wood, Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer, Seasons figure, Myrna Schkolne

Below are her three "sisters," and together the four ladies would portray all four Seasons. I don't know which pot bank made made my lady in the yellow-dress-that plunges-too-low, but the three gals below can be attributed to Ralph Wood. Among their distinctive features is the line that bands only three sides of each base. I suspect that they were made in the latter years of Ralph Wood's fairly short career and that the molds subsequently passed to another potter. Alas, it seems that time has robbed us of all but the lady in yellow, but please be on the look out for her companions!

Courtesy Byrne's Auctioneers, Chester.

Below are my recent Seasons, all looking for members of their original families. They are all fine figures, ridiculously inexpensive at that. For now, I am enjoying them on a shelf in my office, where they give me enormous pleasure.

antique staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Spring, Autumn, Winter, Seasons figure, Myrna Schkolne

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Classical Charm

5/1/2019

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WOW! was my reaction when I first saw this lovely pair of classical antique Staffordshire pottery figures--and I am hoping that will be your reaction too.

antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Venus, Apollo, Myrna Schkolne

The figures depict Apollo, the Greek god epitomizing beauty, and Venus, the goddess of love. Although both subjects are well-covered in Staffordshire pottery, these particular models are exceptionally uncommon, and I have recorded only one or perhaps two others from the same molds. So to find them as a pair was really gratifying. At nine inches in height, they are impressive.

Where did this great "find" happen? Believe it or not, on FaceBook. One of my FaceBook friends, the Australian dealer Barrie Cathcart, posted their photo, and the rest is history.

Both Apollo and Venus are bedecked in delicious enamels--meltingly soft--and considerable thought went into all the details. Look at the lovely wreaths on the deities heads. And yes, the same rather girly head seems to have been used for both figures.

I am quite enamored with the dolphin's eye!

Of course, the vermicular decoration on the bases is especially eye-catching. I have noticed that other figures with similarly decorated bases exhibit the same caliber of enameling and glazing, and, on occasion, the same titling. All are rather yummy, and I suspect (but can't prove) that all came from the same pot bank.

antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Tenderness, Myrna Schkolne

antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, blacksmith, cow with the iron tail, waterpump, Myrna Schkolne

Also added to the shelf in my office recently was this figure portraying Fortitude.

antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Fortitude, Myrna Schkolne

At almost seven inches, she is significantly smaller than Venus and Apollo, but she is charming, and I need all the Fortitude I can get! Notice that she wears a helmet (because Fortune is often portrayed as a warrior) and she leans on a pillar, (a pillar became Fortune's attribute in the Renaissance). I am not sure of the symbolism attached to the book...wisdom perhaps? I have only seen one other example of this figure, which was in the stock of the late Aurea Carter and is shown in Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, Volume 4. I like her rather stoic expression.

My third and last collection addition is also classical, and the photo does not capture the shimmering iridescence of its luster background, which is a much pinker shade than my photo suggests.

antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Diana, Myrna Schkolne

This wee treasure, just seven inches tall, portrays the goddess Diana. As the goddess of the hunt and the moon, Diana personifies chastity. She is frequently portrayed with her hunting gear and a dog.

This humble plaque and I have a history. I fell in love with it in 2008, when I visited the home of the dealer Bill Shaeffer. As I entered the door it caught my eye--but Bill was not wanting to part with it. This year, his estate was auctioned, and it became my turn to acquire the plaque and enjoy Diana on my wall. Notice the smudge in the paint at ten o'clock. It's the painter's finger print!

Bull baitings, wedding, christenings, children at play...the subjects have naive charm, but classical figures tell amazing stories of their own. Any idea why the figure of Venus usually has a dolphin at her side? That's because dolphins recall Venus's birth from the sea. Here the story gets a little gory. The Greek poet Hesiod tells that when Uranus was castrated, his genitals were cast on the sea, and Venus was born from the foam they produced, and she floated ashore in a shell. The Ancients were certainly not lacking in imagination!

Classical figures are easy to find, but not necessarily on the shelf of your favorite dealer. Dealers tend to focus on those bull baitings, weddings, christenings, and the like. They deem these subjects more "commercial", The secret is that classical figures (which are often earlier and finer than the so-called "whimsical" or "naive figures that dealers hone in on) are ridiculously underpriced because the trade, in its ignorance, often ignores them.

PS: James Hall's Dictionary of Subjects & Symbols in Art, an inexpensive paperback, is my go-to reference for the low-down on classical figures

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Doing Dallas

4/1/2019

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Dallas is a remarkable city in that it houses more early Staffordshire figures than does any other city on earth. No, these treasures are not stuffed into museum cupboards. Rather, they are loved and enjoyed in the homes of collectors who generously share them with like-minded others. And so it happens that in the past few weeks, several interesting early Staffordshire figures crossed my path within a few miles of my home.

First, I was thrilled to see that the two pipers below jumped from John Howard's stock onto a local collector's shelf because this gave me an opportunity to examine and compare them to some other figures in my own collection.

antique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, bocage figure, Sherratt, Obadiah Sherratt, musician, Myrna Schkolne

These two close-to-identical pipers are not what you could call a pair, but they have probably lived side by side for almost two centuries. At my first glimpse of them, a "Sherratt" siren went off full blast in my head. Look at the number of features they share with other "Sherratt" figures----features that are exclusively "Sherratt."

First, the same piper occurs within other "Sherratt" groups, some of which are shown below.

The base is of a form that we see on other small "Sherratt" figures. It is from the same molds as the bases on the groups below.

And if you look at the "Sherratt" groups that follow, you will see that both the little perky dog and the bottle occur repeatedly within them. Yes, I know small dogs are not uncommon on pottery groups, but the "Sherratt" dog is unlike any other, and, off the top of my head, the bottle is also specific to "Sherratt."

The bocage flowers are the typical four-petalled mayflowers found on other Sherratt groups, including the two large family and courtship groups shown above.
The bocage (right) is a little atypical in its structure. I might have expected it to look more like the example on the left.

Those funny little round flowers on the base had me stumped for a while. A first for "Sherratt" perhaps?

Not so at all. I had almost forgotten that I had recorded those same round flowers
on the base of this musical group.

Below, you see one of the pipers alongside two other "Sherratt" groups with like characteristics. It is no wonder that Malcolm Hodkinson dubbed his book on this pot bank "Sherratt? A Natural Family of Staffordshire Figures."

It is satisfying when all the puzzle pieces come together, but I am left wondering why two male pipers would be "paired" in this manner. Given the choice, wouldn't you have paired the male piper with his female companion? I have encountered another instance of this. The two male pipers below probably lived together for centuries.

Pictureantique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, bocage figure, Big Blossom Group, musician, Myrna Schkolne

The owner of this "pair" sold one--to me, I will confess--but the owner of the two "Sherratt" pipers prefers to keep that twosome together, which I quite understand.

Another interesting find in a Dallas home this month was this sheep. The base is one most commonly found on Dudson figures, but the distinctive bocage flowers (just like those on the two pipers immediately above) place this sheep in the Big Blossom Group.

Pictureantique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, bocage figure, Big Blossom Group, sheep, Myrna Schkolne

I must admit to being surprised at this combination of bocage and base, so much so that I checked carefully to confirm that the bocage is original to the group. Lovely beast is it not?

A beast of another sort, and certainly not to every collector's taste, is the large figure of Atlas holding a globe, such as the example below.

Pictureantique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Atlas, Myrna Schkolne

Courtesy Leonard Joel.

Atlas's globe is usually open at the top (as is the one shown here) or it has a series of large holes near the top. The purpose of these openings has been a bit of a mystery. Last month in Dallas, I encountered a pair of Atlas figures gracing a dining table. Each globe held a metal candlestick fitting, as you see below.

For now, I am left to assume that globes with multiple holes accommodated more complex fittings.

This past month, getting out and about in Dallas was remarkably rewarding. I wonder what will turn up next?

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Details Great and Small

3/3/2019

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antique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Myrna Schkolne, Ceres

There are no prizes for guessing the identity of the lady in the pearlware figure above. Her cornucopia reveals that she is Ceres, goddess of agriculture and plenty. But look again, and you will notice an unusual detail, other than the pretty base. Have you found it? It's the tiny animal (a lion?) peeping out from beneath her skirt.

Small Staffordshire pottery figures of Ceres are usually around six inches in height, and they were mainly made in the late eighteenth century and just into the post-1800 period. They tend to look like the example below, made by Neale/Wilson around 1785, and they do not include a small animal.

Excavated shards link the model-with-animal to William Greatbach's pot bank in the 1775-1782 period. The shards are decorated with colored glazes, so presumable the figure would have looked like the one below, which is currently on eBay. Again, that little beastie peeps out from beneath Ceres's skirt.

Courtesy eBay seller hugh-jarms

This model may have neither originated with Greatbach nor ended with him, for molds changed hands routinely in the Potteries then. I was intrigued to see the small figure of Ceres below in a private collection. She is the only other enamel-painted figure I have recorded from the same molds as the figure at the top of this page. This time the beastie really looks like a lion. Love Ceres's eye makeup!

Courtesy Malcolm Trundley.

Last month, I commented on how pleasing the detail in figures can be, and detail can be found on even quite huge figures. The potter of this large lion in Martyn Edgell's stock was very determined that the beast should have great big ear holes but, more appealing is the motif of putti with a lion in relief beneath the animal's belly.

antique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Myrna Schkolne, lion, putti

Courtesy Martyn Edgell.

A putto atop a lion’s back occurs in classical imagery dating back to Roman times. It conveys the theme of the power of love, or “love Conquers All” (“Omnia Vincit Amor” from Virgil’s Eclogue). This same scene appears on a Wedgwood jasper plaque in the Buten Collection, which was modeled in 1776 after a carved gem. And it appears on a plaque in my collection.

antique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Myrna Schkolne, putti, lion

Another large figure with an interesting detail coming to auction soon is the lady below. Any idea who she is?

antique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Myrna Schkolne, Parable, Wise Virgin

Courtesy Woton Auctions.

The devil is in again in the detail, for the lamp holds the clue to her identity. She portrays the Wise Virgin, as in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25: 1–13), also known as the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. This parable tells of ten virgins awaiting the coming of a bridegroom. Each carries an oil torch. The five wise virgins have sufficient oil for their lamps, but the five foolish virgins have not. Because the foolish virgins have to seek more oil, they are not present when the bridegroom arrives. They miss their big opportunity!

The Wise Virgin has been represented in imagery for centuries holding her oil light, as does the Staffordshire figure. (A figure portraying the Foolish Virgin has not yet been documented.) Of course, that outstretched arm is just asking to be snapped off, which is why I have yet to see a Wise Virgin with an intact arm in a private collection or in a dealer's stock. I know of only two intact examples, both in museum collections, and they can be seen is Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, Vol. 2. For completeness, note that in this case the ewer that should be present in the lady's other hand is missing.

Missing details are so frustrating! A few months back I was intrigued to see a hitherto unrecorded figure on eBay. The flower on the base is an Enoch Wood/Wood & Caldwell feature, so I know which pot bank made her...but what did this lovely lass once hold in her arms? The details that would pinpoint her identity have long since been lost.

antique Staffordshire, antique Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Myrna Schkolne

I have since seen a similar figure with her arms restored to hold a musical instrument of sorts. A botched job if ever there was one! If the world can drool over the armless Venus de Milo, why do we collectors demand perfection?

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The Small Things that Matter

2/3/2019

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I skipped last month's blog posting...my first miss in years. Not a great start to 2019, but it happened for a reason. I was obsessively working on a major revamp of Obsession, which is now available on the Books tab of this site for free down load. In the process, I took lots of new photographs, added figures, increased the size of all the photos, and improved the text. I hope you enjoy the result.

There is a saying in North Carolina, "You never know how you look till you get your picture took," and it is so very true when it comes to Staffordshire pottery figures. I find that looking through the lens of the camera focuses my attention on the tiny details that matter, the elements that make each figure special. Case in point is the group below, which I have owned since my early collecting days. The quality cannot be faulted, and the group is as fresh and clean as if it were made yesterday.

antique Staffordshire, Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Myrna Schkolne

But look at it piece by piece, and those little musicians become real people, with expressive faces and beautifully decorated garb. Even the animals acquire distinct personalities.

The magic really is in the details. Notice the amazing cockades on those hats. Each is as crisp as can be.....and I love the carefully dotted eyebrows.

I am an enthusiastic advocate of small figures. Yes, the biggies--the menageries, the bull baitings, the Death of Munrows....all have POW. But somehow there is less detail in them, less for the eye to dawdle over and ponder. And, I might add, you can buy a whole shelf of small figures for less than the price of the big groups we collectors seem to covet.

I enjoy my tiny treasures enormously, but am I alone in this? The little pair of Turks (below) are so very fine and give me endless pleasure.

antique Staffordshire, Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, Turk, Myrna Schkolne

My path to this pair was a rather a winding one. I first bought two males in a lot at auction, the two you see in the picture below. Then I acquired a female--she really is a surprisingly rare figure--and that enabled me to make a pair. Perhaps someday I will find a lady for my bachelor Turk, or perhaps I will part with him, but I must admit that I enjoy the three figures just as they stand.

So here's what I don't understand: Andrew Dando offered a pair of Turks in his December exhibition. This is the only other pair of these charming figures that I have recorded. Modestly priced, it remained unsold after the exhibition and went into his stock on his site.

Courtesy Andrew Dando

Another tiny pair that I enjoy is shown below. I bought these musicians and their pooches from Elinor Penna very many moons ago, and my pleasure in them continues to this day.

antique Staffordshire, Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, musicians, Myrna Schkolne

Figures of quality have become so rare, and their prices keep going up and up at auction--if you can find any to bid on in the first place. So why has no-one failed to see the beauty in a similar pair that David Boyer has had on his site for a while? They should have sold immediately!

Courtesy Mears and Boyer.

This posting is NOT intended as a plug for any particular dealer. I buy from them all---but that is hardly and endorsement because I would buy from the devil himself if he had what I wanted! This posting is intended to ask you to enjoy the detail in your figures. Focusing in this way will sharpen your eye and enhance your pleasure.

Visitors to our home often ask me which is the single figure I would keep if I could only keep one, and I tend to point to my small Wombwell's menagerie. But truth be told, if I could only keep one figure in my final years, any one of my smaller figures would fit the bill. If I am ga-ga and bed ridden, I would be quite content to clutch this small sheep, bought from John Howard a long time ago.

antique Staffordshire, Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, sheep, Myrna Schkolne

John's stock is consistently the very finest, and its quality is fairly reflected in the price....but it doesn't take deep pockets to achieve supreme pleasure. I would be just as happy clutching the little "Sherratt" sheep (below) bought on eBay for a paltry amount.

My list of new year resolutions includes revisiting my collection to refocus on the detail in the figures. God is in the detail, after all. The small things are really what matter most.

PS: If you are among the brave who plough through the text of Obsession, please point out the errors that surely abound! I can be reached at myrna.schkolne@gmail.com

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Fleeting Fame

12/3/2018

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Recently, the fabulous plaque shown below crossed my path. It is unusual, perhaps even unique, in two ways: first, I can't recall another plaque with two hangers arranged in this way; and second and more importantly, it portrays a pivotal battle in European history.

Staffordshire pottery, antique Staffordshire plaque, Wellington, Myrna Schkolne

The scene depicts the Battle of Vitoria. The figure on horseback is identified by a ribbon beneath impressed WELLINGTON, while the ribbon beneath the soldiers to the left is impressed VITTORIA {sic}.

At the battle of Vitoria in northern Spain on 21 June 1813, British forces under Arthur Wellesley, then the Marquess of Wellington, defeated Joseph Bonaparte (King of Spain and Napoleon's older brother). This facilitated Napoleon's defeat and abdication in April 1814. That same month, Wellington was made the Duke of Wellington for his contribution to securing the safety and sovereignty of the British nation.

Who was THE man of the twentieth century? I suspect that the name that will be remembered long after all others are forgotten is that of Adolf Hitler, to the eternal shame of the German nation. But to my mind the hero of the twentieth century was Sir Winston Churchill, whose inspirational leadership saved Britain and western civilization from the poisonous tentacles of evil intent on devouring Europe.

In the nineteenth century, the Duke of Wellington was the hero who saved Britain--and indeed Europe--from aggression, and today he is still remembered for his victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. But Staffordshire potters were slow to pay tribute to this great man. Despite Wellington's fame, the only figure I have seen that is definitively identified as him is the figure below, currently in the Potteries Museum. As you see, "Duke Wellington" has been scratched into the paint on the base, so there can be no argument.

The trouble is that I am not convinced this figure was modeled to be the Wellington. It is possible that the painter simply scratched "Duke Wellington" into the paint as an afterthought. Several variations on this model exist....but as yet another titled example has not come to light. (See www.mystaffordshirefigures.com/blog/duke-of-wellington)

When it comes to busts, we get somewhat luckier. Indeed, Wellington was modeled in bust form---but, whereas the potters created multiple variations of busts of other men who were long-dead and rather obscure, the bust shown below is their only depiction of Wellington. We can be sure the bust is Wellington because DUKE OF WELLINGTON is impressed on the front of the socle--impossible to see in this photo, I know.

Courtesy Wisbech & Fenland Museum.

Below is the reverse of the bust. The mark impressed on the lower edge of the socle....trust me, it is there!...is that of WOOD & CALDWELL. This tells us that it was made between 1814 (when Wellington became a duke) and 1818 (when the Wood & Caldwell partnership dissolved.) This bust, in the Wisbech & Fenland Museum, is 11.5" tall, but a 22" version (similarly marked) is in the Potteries Museum.

Courtesy Wisbech & Fenland Museum.

The Wellington bust was based upon a portrait bust by the English sculptor Joseph Nollekens (1737–1823). Nollekens carved his work in 1813 and exhibited it at the Royal Academy that year. Wellington's bared neck, blank eyes, and haughty expression appealed to the classicists and romantics of the day, and, given the Duke's fame, other artists were quick to jump on the bandwagon and replicate the bust in assorted materials.

I was intrigued to find a plaster version of Nolleken's bust in the collection of the Boston Athenaeum, gifted in 1817. At just over 22" in size, it (or another just like it) may well have been the design source for the 22" pottery bust in the Potteries Museum.

In the pre-Victorian era, Staffordshire portrayals of the Duke of Wellington appeared on jugs and other useful wares, but when it comes to figures...sadly, it just didn't happen.

With peace secured after Waterloo, Wellington re-entered politics. Known as the Iron Duke because of his fiery resolve, he served as prime minister for two years and died in 1852. From the 1840s, with the Duke in his final years, there seems to have been an awakening appreciation of his contribution to his nation, and Victorian potters portrayed Wellington as the elder statesman that he was.

Victorian figures of the Duke of Wellington, circa 1850. Courtesy Bearnes, Hampton & Littlewood.

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Making the most of molds

11/1/2018

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The intricate molds required to fashion early Staffordshire figures were costly and were not protected by patent law. Because plagiarism was commonplace in the Potteries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we sometimes see remarkably similar figures forms emanating from multiple pot banks.

Of course, molds often changed hands legitimately. Certainly, when a potter died his molds would usually be sold to another. Thus, when Ralph Wood died in 1795, the molds for his gardener figures (first pair below) were among those that passed into the hands of Richard Dudson, who set up shop in 1800 and fashioned figures of the same form (second pair below.)

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Ralph Wood, gardeners

Courtesy Barbara Gair at Castle Antiques.

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Dudson, gardener, mate

Courtesy Sheila Wilson

Molds also changed hands for reasons other than death. For example, the family group below marked TITTENSOR was made by Charles Tittensor, active from around 1803 into the 1820s. This group is the only one of its kind that we can attribute to Titensor, so perhaps he didn't have much success with it. I speculate that he threw in the towel and sold the figure molds to another potter.

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Tittensor, family group

Courtesy Bonhams.

The figure molds Tittensor used became the property of the Patriotic Group pot bank, which made many examples of the figures in multiple settings.

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Patriotic Group

Courtesy John Howard

It is common to see the same figures placed before different bocages or even in in entirely different settings. The potters tried every trick in the book to get the most bang for their buck (or pound) out of their molds. For example, the lady and gentleman beneath do duty in several formats, all courtesy of the "Sherratt" pot bank.

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Sherratt, Obadiah Sherratt

Courtesy the National Trust.

The cut-off date for so-called "early" Staffordshire figures is 1840. After that, styles and tastes changed, and economic necessity mandated the manufacture of much simpler figures. So what happened to all those costly molds?

Of course, change did not happen overnight, but pondering the transition is interesting. For example, look at the figures below, which are smaller-scale look-alikes of the "Sherratt" family above. Did "Sherratt" make them? Because these figures do not exhibit a single "Sherratt" attribute, I would say not....but "Sherratt' continued into the 1840s, so it is possible that this pot bank copied or adapted existing molds to meet economic imperatives and consumer tastes.

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Sherratt, Obadiah Sherratt, Grecian Daughter

Courtesy John Howard

I have seen several other instances of "Sherratt" adaptations where recognizable "Sherratt" attributes remain, such as in the Grecian Daughter groups alongside. So, while I would not bet money on the little family groups also being "Sherratt," I just can't rule out that possibility.

Another manufactory that prospered well beyond our 1840 cut-off is that established by Enoch Wood. Most of us are familiar with the rare figure of George and the dragon that this manufactory produced circa 1815.

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Wood & Caldwell, George and Dragon

Recently, I came across the figure below, made from the same molds in around 1845. You have to wonder why the molds were pushed aside for some thirty years. And is the later figure an atypical product from the Wood manufactory, or did some other potter buy or copy the molds needed to make it?

Courtesy Tennants

The very rare figure of the highwayman Dick Turpin seen below left is somewhat transitional in style and dates from the late 1830s. To its right is the same figure decorated in a typical Victorian fashion and made just a few years later. What better example of the transition could we have?

early Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, Dick Turpin

Courtesy Andrew Dando

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Pearlware Rarities

10/1/2018

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This site is now over ten years old, and I am amazed that, given the hundreds of blog articles I have already published here, there is anything left to say! But early Staffordshire figures never cease to surprise, and something new is constantly turning up. Case in point is this tiny courting couple with a broad bocage, which sold at auction recently.

early Staffordshire figure, pearlware, dandies, bocage, Myrna Schkolne

Courtesy Gildings

This brings to four the grand total of similar little couples that I have recorded, and two of the three others are shown below.

Groups like this are generally referred to as "dandies," and I admit to including them among the dandies in my publications. But in my mind they are really courting couples. For one, true dandies groups always stand differently, with a swaggering stance, like the three couples on the left below.

Add to that, the little courting couples comprise the very same figures we find on New Marriage Act groups, as you see below.

early Staffordshire figure, pearlware, New Marriage Act, bocage, Myrna Schkolne

Next, the figure of the water carrier, below. Rare as it is, it is recognizable to sharp-eyed collectors as one of our earlier figures,. Made by Ralph Wood circa 1785, it typically looks like the example I show here.

antique Staffordshire, Ralph Wood, Galego, Myrna Schkolne

Courtesy Andrew Dando

This water carrier lady, here titled A Galego, also occurs decorated in colored glazes and bearing Ralph Wood's mark, and an example is recorded impressed "67" in the Ralph Wood manner. It is one of several figures that Wood made with a Spanish theme or title.

Ralph Wood modified some of his figures to accommodate the nascent enthusiasm for bocage, and, in this spirit, he removed her cloak, and fitted a bocage, as you see on the figure below. The jug atop her head seems to have been modified at the same time. I have never seen another figure like her.

I believe that nearly every early Staffordshire figure has a companion, and Galego, is no exception. Ralph Wood designed a musician titled A Gasconion. The example below is impressed "66".

antique Staffordshire, Ralph Wood, Gasconian, Myrna Schkolne

Courtesy Mary and Maurice Norton

Ralph Wood similarly spiffied up his Gasconian with a bocage, as you can just see in this old catalog image.

Courtesy Christie's

Ralph Wood died in 1795, and it seems some of his molds landed in the hands of Richard Dudson, who established a manufactory shortly after. The Galego and Gasconion molds were clearly among them, and Dudson produced less refined versions of these figures.

antique Staffordshire, Dudson, Mate, Gasconian, Myrna Schkolne

Courtesy Andrew Dando

While the Dudson figures aesthetically cannot hold a candle to the Wood ones, their bright colors and naive clunkiness have an appeal of their own. And those large cloaks, much bigger than the Wood garments, are stunning.

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Six Select Figures: Enoch Wood's numbered figures for the Portuguese market.

9/3/2018

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We live in a marvelous age! From my home in Dallas, I am fortunate to be able to keep in touch with collectors of early Staffordshire figures in the US and UK, as well as those further afield. I value the friendships forged over the years and am always excited to hear of additions to my distant collector friends' shelves. To me, the most interesting collections are those that embrace unusual figures of great merit, figures that both tantalize their owners' intellects as well as please their eyes. Just recently, a valued collector friend sent me photographs of two figures that he acquired in Portugal, of all places.

The first figure, below, portrays St. John the Baptist and is titled "S. JOAO", presumably the Portuguese equivalent of St. John. The figure is extraordinarily rare, the only other example I know of being in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (See Vol. 2 of Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840). Because John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, there is a lamb next to the figure.

antique Staffordshire figure, Enoch Wood, religious Staffordshire figure, Staffordshire for Portugal, antique Staffordshire pottery, pearlware figure, Myrna Schkolne, John the Baptist, S. Joao

This figure is impressed "4" on the reverse. The example in the Fitzwilliam Museum in impressed "No. 4". Figures such as this were made by Enoch Wood for the Portuguese market in the 1820s, and this figure may well have been in Portugal for the last two hundred or so years. Other figures also numbered and styled in this manner are among the Enoch Wood shards of circa 1825 excavated from the Burslem Old Town Hall site in 1938. Several of these figures appear to once have had metal fittings. In this case, John the Baptist has a hole on the top of his head, and the accumulation of wax around it suggests it accommodated a candleholder of sorts.

As luck would have it--and I should only have such luck!--the collector who acquired John the Baptist at the same time acquired another rare figure in the same series. That figure is titled "S. MANOEL. M." (St. Emanuel Martyris) and represents the martyred St. Emanuel, as you see below.

This figure is impressed "N. 5" on the reverse. The example I show in Vol. 2 of Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840 is impressed "No. 5".

The figures or John the Baptist and St. Emanuel are both a good eight to nine inches tall. I suspect they have lived together in Portugal since the 1820s, but they have now been repatriated to the UK.

Did you notice the holes in St. Emanuel's chest, right above his nipples? There are similar holes in his ears. That's because a long-ago owner modified the figure to reflect Emanuel's martyrdom. He clearly went to great trouble to do so and had high-quality (perhaps silver) arrows made to fit in the holes. The hole in the top of Emanuel's head, on the other hand, is original and was intended to accommodate a metal object of sorts--perhaps a halo.

The figures Enoch Wood made for his Portuguese customers all seem to have been religious in nature, and many were numbered on the reverse. How many numbered figure models were made? I suggest that there had to have been at least 11 figures in the numbered series because the unpainted figure shown below is impressed "No. 11" on the reverse. Impressed "S. SEBASTI. O, M" (St. Sebastian Obiit Martyris) on the front, it represents the martyred St. Sebastian. Now in the Potteries Museum, it is among material excavated from the Enoch Wood site.

Courtesy The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent,.

If the figure of St. Sebastian looks vaguely familiar to you, it is probably because St. Sebastian comes for sale relatively frequently. Too often touted as "early,"every example I have seen can be attributed to the Kent factory, which seems to have produced these figures in abundance circa 1900.

Alongside, is the Kent rendition of St. Sebastian. It seems to have been made from Enoch Wood molds, but the colors betray its later origin. I have not yet found an early painted example of this figure, in the flesh or in the literature. The unpainted figure in the Potteries Museum is, to date, the only early example on record.

Also in the Potteries Museum and also known only from an unpainted figure excavated from the Enoch Wood site is the figure below of the virgin martyr St. Barbara. It is impressed "S. Barbar. V. M." (St. Barbara Virgin Martyris) on the front and "No.3" on the reverse.

Courtesy The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent,.

Below, and again known from only this one example, is this lovely figure of St. Lucy, impressed "S. LUZIA" and "No. 9".

Courtesy Elinor Penna.

Yet another of the numbered figures is this Pieta, showing Mary cradling Jesus in her arms, and impressed "No. 6" behind.

Although this Pieta is untitled, but the only other recorded example, an unpainted group in the Potteries Museum, is impressed "N. S. DA PIEDADE" on the front and "No. 6" on the reverse. Seen below, notice that Jesus is missing from Mary's arms, and I suspect that this group, again excavated from the site associated with Enoch Wood, may well have been a reject.

Courtesy The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent,.

To summarize, I show our six Enoch Wood figures in this numbered series below. Assuming there were eleven models, we are over halfway to recording them all...but the number sequence may well have run quite a bit higher. These are all impressive figures that are interesting, eye-catching, and particularly rare--in some cases, unique. It is a sad reflection on collecting tastes that most collectors would overlook them.

No. 3. Courtesy The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent,.

No. 5.

No. 9. Courtesy Elinor Penna.

No. 4.

No. 6.

No. 11. Courtesy The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent,.

UPDATE

After posting this last month, a collector with an important collection kindly let me know that he and his wife too have a Pieta, like the figure impressed "6" above. And scouring the web revealed yet another, in the archive of Madelena, which I show below.

Image courtesy Madelena.

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Surprises

8/2/2018

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If collecting were merely about purchasing, the fun would soon fade. Buying and buying and buying, rather like overeating, is ultimately unrewarding. For me, the fun is in the "hunt"--that relentless pursuit of a particular figure to fill a gap in my collection. Of course, this takes endless vigilance that is rewarded only sometimes.

About fifteen years ago, I bought the little dog below at auction in the UK. Titled "& VAL LAY", she clearly was one of a pair, and I would have loved to have owned her mate too.

antique Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Sherratt, Obadiah Sherratt, dog, Myrna Schkolne

At the time, I recognized VAL as having all the attributes of a "Sherratt" figure, so I looked in Malcolm Hodkinson's fantastic little book "Sherratt? A Natural Family." My little dog, whom I dub Val, was not recorded in the book, but Malcolm had devoted a whole chapter to a sub-group of "Sherratt" figures that he titled "The Rover Group." Who is Rover? Well, he is none other than the companion figure to Val.

I took Val to England in around 2004 to photograph her together with Rover, who lives in a private collection. As you see, they make a perfect pairing, and the titles read "ROVER & VAL LAY."

As pretty as the pair is, these dogs reside an ocean apart. I have searched for all these years to find a Rover to pair with my Val, but to no avail. The only other Rover I have seen is the dog below, untitled, with a different "Sherratt" bocage and a black rather than deep brown coat.

Once upon a time, I am sure there was an untitled figure of Val to pair with the untitled Rover, but until last month I had not come across another Val of any sort. Then, unexpectedly, the figure of Val below came my way. This time her coat is black, and she has a "Sherratt" bocage not seen on any of the other Rover and Val pooches.

So now my problems have compounded: I have two figures of Val, BOTH of which need a Rover. I must continue looking!

Unrecorded figures do keep coming to light. Recently, John Howard added this sweet little cow spill vase to his site. The floral garlands on the base are a definitive "Sherratt" feature, and the cow is of the same form as other "Sherratt" cows, so I am confident of the attribution.

antique Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Sherratt, Obadiah Sherratt, cow, Myrna Schkolne

Courtesy John Howard

I was still mulling this nice addition to the body of "Sherratt" figures, when, believe it or not, the companion vase, below, went through auction

Courtesy Halls Fine Art

What are the odds of two unrecorded figures that form a pair surfacing on the market within weeks of each other? Apparently, it can happen, and not knowing what will turn up next makes collecting exciting.

Recently, I bought a small pair of figures at auction in the US. Thrown into a lot of five figures, they certainly did not get the respect they deserve. They are an unrecorded pair of enamel-painted figures that can be attributed to Ralph Wood and date to circa 1785. I know of figures of this form only from a pair in the literature, said to be in the Southport Museum. Both the museum figures are unpainted and are impressed "Ra. Wood Burslem"; and the male figure is impressed "78" in the manner of other Ralph Wood figures.

antique Staffordshire figure, antique Staffordshire pottery, Sherratt, Ralph Wood, Myrna Schkolne

It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the auction house did not catalog this charming early pair in a manner that reflects their significance and rarity. On the other hand, how many collectors care? Collecting has, in my opinion, reached new lows, with far too much emphasis being placed on cuteness and perfection (never mind if the latter has only been achieved with considerable effort from an expert restorer.)

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