Early Staffordshire pearlware and creamware pottery figures

Douglas

3/26/2013

Do you recognize this figure as Douglas? Douglas was a character in a play called Douglas that was written by John Home and first performed in 1756--and it remained popular into the nineteenth century. This tragedy, based on a Scottish ballad, tells of Lady Randolph, who secretly mourns Lord Douglas, her husband by a prior clandestine marriage, and their baby that she had abandoned. The baby is raised by a shepherd called Norval, and the child takes the name Young Norval. As the plot unfolds, Lady Randolph is reunited with Young Norval, who claims his father's name.

So here we have Douglas, formerly Young Norval. I have seen examples of this figure titled "Douglas." You may be wondering why he has a peg-leg. Good question! You see, figures of Douglas are sometimes paired with figures of the peg-legged busker Billy Waters. Below, we have just such a pair. Billy is on the left, with his familiar tri-corn hat, and Douglas is on the right, wearing a kilt.

In the manner of its time, Douglas was sometimes performed on stage on the same evening as Life in London (featuring Billy Waters), so audiences might see both Douglas and Billy for the same admission. I think ignorance rather than a potter’s quirk accounts for Douglas’s peg leg!

Alan Kaplan recently sold this delicious plaque, which I admired in one of Jonathan Horne's Exhibitions some years back. It portrays a scene from Douglas.

On the right we have Young Norval/Douglas. The child star Master Betty, who was a great celebrity in his time, was famous in this role. And no, he did not have a peg leg!

To the left, we have, I assume, Old Norval....but I am open to suggestions.

And in the center, we have Lady Randolph, with her hand to her heart as she meets her long-abandoned son. The acclaimed Sarah Siddons was very famous in this role.

The Brighton Museum has a figure that looks just like the lady on the plaque. The Museum record, in error, describes the figure as Queen Caroline, but it is definitely not that lady, Rather, it is Lady Randolph.

There is no known source print for this plaque, so, although we can identify the characters, we cannot be certain of the identities of the actors in their roles.
I do think the plaque is hauntingly beautiful. The play, of course, ends in tragedy. Lord Randolph gets jealous and attempts to take Douglas's life. Douglas dies in his mother's arms....and Lady Randolph then commits suicide.

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"Sherratt" Happy Family

3/19/2013

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I was thrilled to have this picture come my way recently, because it depicts a particularly rare figure group. I call this The Happy Family, and I know of only two other examples. One is shown in my book and it resides in the Fitzwilliam Museum; the other (with significant enamel restoration) is in a private collection. And now we have a third.

You will notice that this family is the same family that "Sherratt" used in his Tee Total group, but with the addition of the little girl

The little girl is so adorable, so I wish "Sherratt" had used her more often!
Delving through the National Trust web site this week, I stumbled across this group, also "Sherratt."

I have seen one other example of this figure, complete with a dog, that a collector has kindly provided for my book. I am certain it was paired with a mother and baby, but I have yet to find an example. Let's keep looking. That's what collecting is all about!

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Coming Unglued

3/19/2013

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I have been working with a US collection assembled in the 1970s, and the collection labels once so carefully attached beneath each figure are everywhere but on the figures. This I understand! Every time I move my figures around, I spend days picking up stray collection labels. This seems to me a peculiarly modern problem because some of my figures have firmly attached labels that are a century old. And I fear it is a particularly American problem. Why do I draw this unpatriotic conclusion? UK dealer labels that have been on my figures anywhere from 1 to 30 years never budge.....yet my American-bought collection labels are always adrift.

Years ago, I labeled my collection....but within a short space of time, those labels fell off. Every time I picked up a figure, an upside-down label stared up at me from the table. Most disheartening! The second lot of labels came from someone in England who specialized in labels for collectibles. These labels are still in place...but alas, the ink is not. Any hint of moisture, and the print smudges away. I determined to try a third time, and I fared no better. Yes, I have even stuck the labels back on with Elmers glue, but they detach yet again.

Why are new and old UK dealer labels in place, but US labels are littering my floor? Alas, I cannot explain, but I must conclude that some federal regulation dictates what can or cannot go into modern US glue...and I suffer as a result. But I never give up! Last month, I asked a UK dealer for his label supplier. As a result, I contacted the supplier, Daymark. I emailed asking for labels of exactly the same material as that used by my dealer friend. And this week they arrived. I am thrilled. The labels are transparent, and they stick so tightly to the pot that the writing almost seems to be printed directly onto the earthenware. Best of all, I KNOW THESE LABELS WILL STICK.

If you want labels, I suggest you contact Daymark and ask for labels of the same material as mine. The process could not have been easier. I asked for a 1" round label with my wording on it. Daymark sent me two proofs and a quote. The price was reasonable, and if you live in the US, the labels are cheaper because you don't pay VAT. My contact was Mandy--amazingly efficient and helpful-- and I am told that Mandy or someone else at this email address will help.

When collectors die, their collections die too. At the end of my day, my figures will just be a selection of objects seeking new homes. And when they go into new hands, I selfishly want a bit of me to go with them, so they know they were once really loved.

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Walton? Really???

3/12/2013

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As we all know, John Walton, who was active from around 1808 until about the mid-1830s was the most prolific of figure makers. He made more MARKED figure models than did any other potter of his time. I have recorded 83 forms. All are earthenware, enamel-painted. You can see many beneath the Makers tab on this site. For more up-to-date info, see my article in the American Ceramics Circle Journal of two years ago.

The WALTON mark most commonly is impressed on a ribbon, as on the left. Less commonly, it is in an arc, as on the right, with the letters raised rather than impressed.

So now that I have firmly equated Walton with figures that ONLY are made of earthenware and are ALWAYS decorated with enamel paints, it is time to debunk the myth.

First,the earthenware part. Among the Walton figures, is this model of a lady reading. It occurs with either a bocage or spill holder, as you see below.

Imagine my surprise when I found the same figure in porcelain in the reserve collection of the Potteries Museum a few months ago!

This figure, like its earthenware counterparts, is marked with the arc-shaped mark with raised letters. To all appearances, it is Staffordshire porcelain, circa 1835. Now it is just possible that some other potter bought the Walton molds after Walton ceased potting....but it is even more possible that Walton experimented with other clays and had a go at making porcelain. We do know from trade directories that Walton made black basalt wares, but none with his name has been recorded...yet!

Now let's move on to dismiss the belief that Walton only made enamel-painted figures. Look at this little lion. It is marked WALTON in impressed letters on a ribbon. Quite obviously, it is decorated with enamel colors.

Here we have the same lion again, but this time he is decorated in underglaze
colors. I was THRILLED to discover him last week when I was working with a
private collection. The bocage is lost--I believe in manufacture. This lone
survivor attests to Walton's use of more than one decorative coloring technique.

So just when I thought I knew it all about Walton, I fall to my knees in humility. I realize how much I don't know....probably can never know....but I keep trying. If you have anything in your collection that you think is unusual, please share.

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Falconry Finale

3/5/2013

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In medieval times, falconry was the most esteemed of hunting sports, and learning to train and fly hawks was essential education for noble and fashionable gentlemen. People of rank carried hawks befitting their status, even taking them into battle. The advent of the musket made falconry obsolete because guns were a faster, cheaper, more certain mode of hunting. Whereas falconry was at its zenith in 1600, but by 1700, the sport had almost faded into obscurity.

In the late 1700s, falconry underwent a bit of a revival, and the Falconer's Society of England was established in 1772. The first earthenware figure model of a falconer was made shortly after this, circa 1790 by Ralph Wood, and it mirrors the revival of the sport.

The Ralph Wood Falconer is a rare figure, and it occurs impresed 135. Lovely, is it not?

More commonly, figures of falconers are after a Derby model of a gentleman holding a cockerel, introduced in 1765. Although not as rare as the Ralph Wood model, this falconer is far from common.

Examples of this falconer can vary in the modeling and enameling. Some leave much to be desired, but I think this particular example is rather lovely. The enamels are very yummy, and is that face not priceless?? Note that the figure was made without bocage leaves, as sometimes happens on assorted figure models. I think this example is earlier than most, probably circa 1800.

Alongside you see the same falconer again, but this time with a bocage. Still lovely, but not as much to my taste as the first figure. This model was reworked for a decade or three, with varying bases and bocages.

So what happened to archery? From 1792, Lord Berners (then Colonel Wilson) controlled the falconry society, which came to be known as the High Ash Club. His estate at Didlington in Norfolk was the epicenter of the sport. The situation was ideal: vast sweeps of open land were perfect for hunting, and a well-stocked heronry with access to nearby fens and rivers provided prey. Lord Berners died in 1838, and the dismantling of his establishment was the death knoll for the struggling sport. With increasing urbanization and enclosure, the wide sweeps of land necessary for falconry had vanished. Falconry was no longer feasible in England, so enthusiasts relocated to Holland. Our early Staffordshire figures give us a glimpse of falconry's final years.

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