Transitional "Sherratt"

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.

Courtesy John Howard

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. 

Courtesy John Howard

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.

Courtesy John Howard

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.  

Courtesy Madelena Antiques

Personally, give me bocage leaves every time. For me, nothing beats the beauty of a bocage, but if you like simpler styles, transitional figures may be right up your alley. Certainly, if tufts rather than bocage leaves are your thing, you will find them aplenty on Victorian figures, as these examples illustrate.

Courtesy Andrew Dando

Courtesy Andrew Dando

REMINDER
If you want to know the story behind the GRECIAN & DAUGHTER figure groups, please refer to my December 2009 blog posting by clicking here.