"Sherratt"????

"Sherratt" figures are perenially popular with collectors, so the "Sherratt" label gets applied too quickly--or too wishfully. Currently, there are two particularly nice "Sherratt" offerings in the stock of dealers.

This set of figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity is in the stock of Andrew Dando. I think that they are particularly pretty. I love their dresses and bases, and the faces are charming.

How do I know these are "Sherratt"??? Two clues:

1. The floral sprigs applied to the base occur only on "Sherratt" figures. Please note that these sprigs are quite specific in form. Other pot banks used sprigs too--but only "Sherratt" used sprigs shaped like this.
   
2. The bases are specific to "Sherratt". You can see them again on these figures of Pomona and Flora.
   

Flora. Look carefully at her garland. It is made of those same sprigs that are on the bases of Faith, Hope, and Charity. (Yes, a little difficult  to see here!)

Pomona. There are typical "Sherratt" sprigs on the base. One is visible to the right.

The other newsworthy "Sherratt" offering floating in cyberspace is this pair of figures of the Welch Tailor and his wife, from the stock of John Howard.

"Sherratt' figures on this subject are rare. They occur on two base forms, this being the rarer. I have seen this pair of figures, as well as only one other pair on the same unusual bases. On that other pair, the perky baby goat standing beneath its mother was not present.  You really need to see these figures close up to appreciate the quirky expressions, and Sherratt enamels and glazes are particularly pleasing. The reason for the attribution is a bit more complex here, but I am certain these were made by "Sherratt." As for why I am spelling Welch with a "c" rather than an "s"....well, you need to know the figures' story. You can read it here in an old blog posting. By coincidence, it was written right after I first saw these very figures.  

I find absolutely no basis for attributing a weirdly wondrous watch stand in John Howard's stock to "Sherratt" or to anyone else. Amazingly, it still has the original watch in place!

I have a very similar watch stand in my collection. You see it below....with a watch off eBay in place. Notice that there are holes in the top of my watch stand to anchor the T-bar at the end of the watch chain. Nice touch!

Why do I mention these watch stands in the same breath as "Sherratt"? Well, the two men flanking the watch stands also occur on large "Sherratt" PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD groups (see my book).  They are tyler masons, charged with ensuring that only permitted attendees enter masonic mettings. "Sherratt" also made the two tyler masons as separate figures, as you see below.

Although the watch stands seem to link to "Sherratt" because of the presence of the tyler masons, I don't believe "Sherratt" made them. Instead, this is just one of those instances of plagiarism or shared molds. That happened often in the Potteries. The links between figures are endlessly fascinating. Figures are more than mere pretty objects, and delving into them reveals many mysteries and, with luck, a few answers!