In my blog posting of March 2010, I discussed a family of figures on gray rectangular bases. These figures are not plentiful, but when you see one it 'pops' because of the really great enamels.
Then on April 8, 2010, I wrote "Our family of figures with gray bases is growing. I doubt you will recall the blog article of March, but we featured a figure of Spring among the small group of gray-based figures. Spring now has a companion: Winter. The bases are formed identically and their size is the same. The collector who owns these pieces hopes one day to have the complete set...so shout if you see any more!"
Then on April 8, 2010, I wrote "Our family of figures with gray bases is growing. I doubt you will recall the blog article of March, but we featured a figure of Spring among the small group of gray-based figures. Spring now has a companion: Winter. The bases are formed identically and their size is the same. The collector who owns these pieces hopes one day to have the complete set...so shout if you see any more!"
Winter and Spring on gray bases.
Well, it has happened, and in less than a year. The set is complete, which just shows what can be done with a little diligence and determination.
You may think that the figure representing Summer is not as it should be, but that is debatable. Usually Summer is represented holding a wheat sheaf. In this case, she holds a barrel of ale. The figures of Summer and Autumn (man with grapes) were bought as a pair. A mismatched pair, you ask? I am not so sure. The only other time I have seen either of these figures they too were paired thus.
Here we have have Autumn paired with the lady with the barrel yet again. I am thinking that this was the intended pairing from this potbank. You could probably buy the figures as singles, and perhaps the lady with the barrel was the nearest thing to Summer...so it stood in for Summer. Who knows? Yes, the gray base sometimes is rather yellow, as you see here!
The more I learn, the less I know. For the record, the lady with the ale barrel was made by a number of pot banks. Ralph Wood made the figure, and I have an example with ALE on the barrel. This Ralph Wood figure is sometimes found titled HAY MAKER. It seems to pair with a man with a scythe, titled MOWER. Other pot banks made this pairing too. But in the case of our Gray Base pot bank, we have not yet found a mower, nor have we found any other viable candidate for Summer. The jury is still out, but for now at least, I think the set of Four Seasons featured in this posting is complete. Is it not terrific???
