I sometimes tease a dealer acquaintance who has a large stock of Victorian figures and is forever trying to make up pairs. Alas, I am developing the same preoccupation! I am increasingly aware that very many figures were designed as pairs, but whether they were SOLD as pairs remains a mystery. At the same time, I have come across a good number of figures that clearly are one of a pair or a set....and yet the companion figures remain elusive. Figures emblematic of the seasons are the most frustrating. When I find one, I expect there to be another three, but this is not always the case. Sometimes I can't find even one companion figure!
The figure of summer below is one of the favorites in my collection. She is definitely "Sherratt". Her "Sherratt" attributes are many, but the sprig of flowers on the base--in a shape that is specific to "Sherrratt"--seals the attribution. I love the button closure painted down the back of her dress. "Sherratt" was a large manufactory and produced an astounding array of figures, but this is the only "Sherratt" season that I have located.
The figure of summer below is one of the favorites in my collection. She is definitely "Sherratt". Her "Sherratt" attributes are many, but the sprig of flowers on the base--in a shape that is specific to "Sherrratt"--seals the attribution. I love the button closure painted down the back of her dress. "Sherratt" was a large manufactory and produced an astounding array of figures, but this is the only "Sherratt" season that I have located.
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The figure of summer below is quite different and stands with a spill vase. Companion figures? None yet! (Photo courtesy of Michael Goodacre)
We have the same issue with these two figures of winter. I can understand a circa 1820 clientele buying stand-alone figures of a lovely lady emblematic of summer...but winter? You might think that this, the least appealing of seasons, would not be quite as commercial in figure form. Right now, the two figures below are loners, and perhaps they were not intended as part of a set.
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The figure on the left (in the stock of Nestegg Antiques) is also a loner. I find it hard to believe that more were not made in this set.
The figure of winter below is of the commonest form, but note the unusual scroll (for want of a better word) behind him. I haven't seen companion figures with this scroll. In fact, I have only seen this scroll on much larger figures of the seasons. (Photo courtesy of Phil Masters)
Below is one of the larger seasons, with scroll. All the larger seasons with scrolls are female figures. This figure is emblematic of spring. I think the scroll comes from the same molds as used for the scroll on the little winter above.
Note that this figure bears the Walton mark on the back. In People, Passions, Pastimes, and Pleasures, you can see a full set of four Walton seasons (spring is just like this lady)...but they all have bocages. I think several pot banks used these molds of the seasons. The figures occur with and without bocages, with varying bases, and sometimes in a Pratt palette. As for the Walton spring with a scroll, I have yet to find a companion figure. But, then again, she is quite lovely and may have been sold as a single.
Some of you may think I get ridiculously excited at 'discovering' a pair, especially as it looks so easy and obvious when I show you a picture of the end result. The lone singles, such as the few that you see here, are endlessly frustrating, and perhaps that explains my happiness when I finally make a match!
Some of you may think I get ridiculously excited at 'discovering' a pair, especially as it looks so easy and obvious when I show you a picture of the end result. The lone singles, such as the few that you see here, are endlessly frustrating, and perhaps that explains my happiness when I finally make a match!
