And that reminds me of something else. As I was leaving Brighton Museum--always a wrenching moment for I love the collection SO, and Stella Beddoe is an amazing Keeper--I spied a huge modern object in one of the foyer display cases.
I love daft figures. Last year, I photographed this figure of Neptune in the reserve collection at the Brighton Museum, and it certainly qualifies as daft. I think Neptune is with a triton--that mythical half-man half-fish combination. The figure is a whopping 15-3/4" tall, excluding the trident. This really is an extraordinary object and it makes quite a statement. Okay, maybe this is one I wouldn't want to own, but I do find it fascinating. Despite its grotesque form, it clearly was a labor of love. Note the gilding on the hat, the dolphin's carefully shaded scales, the floral swags on the shield. And the back has not been short-changed. I haven't seen anything like it, but yesterday I discovered this in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. This figure form is the same, but it has been decorated in colored glazes rather than enamels. If you thought the enamel-painted one was ugly, what do you make of this? You can link to the Fitzwilliam Museum's object record hereand see more pictures. Note the Fitzwilliam attributes its figure to Ralph Wood, and I have no reason to think otherwise. The enamel-painted version looks like it too belongs to the 1780 -1800 period. Having verbally abused Brighton's ugly figure, I recant: I would probably grab it if it were for sale. And that reminds me of something else. As I was leaving Brighton Museum--always a wrenching moment for I love the collection SO, and Stella Beddoe is an amazing Keeper--I spied a huge modern object in one of the foyer display cases. Titled Bud and Barkage and made by Carole Windham in 2000, this HUGE dog with bocage is a modern-day interpretation of what our potters once did. No doubt some will like Carole's clever work and others won't, but I was tickled to see that our potters' skills continue firing the imaginations of a new generation of artists.
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