Building a fine collection of antique Staffordshire pottery figures cannot be accomplished quickly, even with the deepest of pockets. It requires knowing what your collection needs and patiently waiting for it. I fare well on the knowledge side of the equation, but patience is definitely not my strong suit! Perhaps I should have collected something else, but there is no knowing where love sends you, and my passion for early figures has repeatedly made me wait for years for a figure on my Most Wanted List.
In around 2004, I began a quest to build a pearlware hunting garniture made by the potter John Walton. I had seen such a rarity in one of the exhibition catalogs published by the late dealer Jonathan Horne.
In around 2004, I began a quest to build a pearlware hunting garniture made by the potter John Walton. I had seen such a rarity in one of the exhibition catalogs published by the late dealer Jonathan Horne.
As you see from this rather gritty old image of Jonathan's garniture, the key components are the sportsmen to either side. In this case, the other two elements are dogs...but more on that later. All the pieces bear the banner mark of John Walton on the reverse.
In 2004, my good friend Nick Burton bought me a very fine Walton pearlware sportsman with dog, just like the figure on the left of Jonathan's garniture.
In 2004, my good friend Nick Burton bought me a very fine Walton pearlware sportsman with dog, just like the figure on the left of Jonathan's garniture.
I well recall Nick's excitement and pleasure in securing this little figure. He loves sporting subjects, and in this case the quality was what he would have described as screamingly good---the great full bocage is glorious, is it not?.
With this acquisition, my hunt for other garniture figures began, and slowly I secured a dog (thanks to a good collector friend who sold me one from his collection) and a rabbit (no thanks to a member of the trade who expected to be rewarded if he sat out the auction!). Thirteen long years later, my garniture looked like this:
With this acquisition, my hunt for other garniture figures began, and slowly I secured a dog (thanks to a good collector friend who sold me one from his collection) and a rabbit (no thanks to a member of the trade who expected to be rewarded if he sat out the auction!). Thirteen long years later, my garniture looked like this:
Each of these pieces is marked Walton on the reverse....but clearly, I needed the sportsman on the right for the garniture to please the eye. The sportsman on the right is, unlike the other sportsman, made without a dog. Much as I wanted one, I just couldn't buy one. It wasn't that the figure was too expensive or that condition issues stopped me from purchasing. Rather, one just was not available. Then, last month I got lucky when a lovely example came up at auction, and I stumbled out of bed in the middle of the night to bid on it.
My garniture is now pleasing to my eye, but is it complete? Truth is that there are two other figures that could be added to it. One comprises two small dogs (as seen in Jonathan Horne's garniture) and the other comprises birds. I know of only two other garnitures, and these little figures are in one or other of those garnitures. In other words, all three garnitures are a little different, but all have the same two sportsmen anchoring their composition. And all have each and every figure marked WALTON.
And that brings me to the next twist in this tale. Within weeks of buying my long-awaited sportsman, I became aware of another virtually identical sportsman looking for a new owner. Strangely, it was not marked, even though it is almost a clone of my marked Walton example.
And that brings me to the next twist in this tale. Within weeks of buying my long-awaited sportsman, I became aware of another virtually identical sportsman looking for a new owner. Strangely, it was not marked, even though it is almost a clone of my marked Walton example.
There is no doubt in my mind that John Walton made the unmarked figure above, but the lack of a mark puzzles me. The mark is not something that was added to the complete figure. Rather, it is integral to the base mold. In other words, Walton must have had two base molds, one marked and one unmarked.
The existence of this unmarked-but-certainly-Walton figure confirms my belief that Walton made many unmarked figures----but identifying them with certainty remains a problem.
Staffordshire figures are like buses: one never comes when you want it, and then they come in twos or threes. So it was with this sportsman. Had I seen the unmarked sportsman first, I certainly would have bought it to complete the garniture. Instead, this splendid figure awaits a discriminating home, and it can currently be seen on eBay, item 292104832139. The same seller also has a fabulous tree grafter, most unusual in that the large full bocage (almost always lost or badly damaged) is intact. All his figures can be seen in his eBay store, Hertford Avenue Antiques. Because the supply of fine figures seems to be drying up, I am over the moon at finding a new seller with figures of this caliber.
The existence of this unmarked-but-certainly-Walton figure confirms my belief that Walton made many unmarked figures----but identifying them with certainty remains a problem.
Staffordshire figures are like buses: one never comes when you want it, and then they come in twos or threes. So it was with this sportsman. Had I seen the unmarked sportsman first, I certainly would have bought it to complete the garniture. Instead, this splendid figure awaits a discriminating home, and it can currently be seen on eBay, item 292104832139. The same seller also has a fabulous tree grafter, most unusual in that the large full bocage (almost always lost or badly damaged) is intact. All his figures can be seen in his eBay store, Hertford Avenue Antiques. Because the supply of fine figures seems to be drying up, I am over the moon at finding a new seller with figures of this caliber.
