Pottery Puzzle

The drop-dead-gorgeous equestrians spill vase shown below is in Brighton Museum's Willett Collection, and it truly is the most eye-catching of Staffordshire pottery groups.

Also in the Willett Collection is the  coursing spill vase, below. Like the equestrians vase, it can be attributed to the Leather Leaf Group. Although both vases are from the same pot bank, I would not have thought them to be companion pieces...but read along and learn with me!

A while ago, I visited a private collection. The collectors own an equestrians spill vase (very like that at the top of this column.) They also own the spill vase below, which I had not seen before. To my eye, this vase with its single equestrian seemed to be the companion to the coursing spill vase shown immediately above.  

When I visit collections, I often find collectors have things tucked away, and this visit was no exception. As we got talking after dinner, we opened up a lower cabinet housing items that were not on display.  To my surprise, a coursing spill vase emerged. We placed it alongside the vase with a single male equestrian, and the match was perfect.

A light bulb went on in my rather slow brain: surely these two vases belonged with the equestrians vase that the collector had in a distant room? I couldn't reach for it fast enough...and sure enough, all three vases were painted in the same palette. I arranged them side by side, and lo and behold: we had a stunning garniture. Below is a rather inadequate picture that I snapped with my camera in that first flush of excitement. See what I mean?

I believe that this garniture portrays a circus routine rather than real-life hunting. Remember, in those days ladies did not hunt....but the circus staged re-enactments of hunts, complete with baying hounds, and many of the circus's performers were skilled horse women, who who took part in these staged entertainments.

The collector who owns this garniture was delighted to discover he had it! He had acquired a collection of figures very many years ago, but he had not realized that these three vases belonged together. He has stuck a note in each vase to remind future owners (and sloppy auction houses) that each vase is related to the others.

I had assumed that three was the sum total of the related vases in this garniture, but something else has turned up. Just recently, this lot went through auction.

Courtesy Hannam's Auctioneers

The group on the right is rather like the one  in the three-piece garniture, but this time the dog is standing rather than lying. On the other hand, the group on the left is quite different.. Hmm, does this mean that garniture could potentially have five pieces or seven or nine.? Of course, we will never know. Meanwhile, just one of these vases stands very handsomely on its own!

Another strange thing about the newly-discovered vase on the left is the small cottage perched atop it. It does make me wonder whether there was once a cottage atop the steps on the vase on the left of the three-piece garniture. I have otherwise seen a cottage of this form only once, as below.

Whereas all the spill vases shown here can be attributed to the Leather Leaf Group, I have no basis for attributing this petite cottage, but is it not the sweetest treasure?

This post raises more questions than it answers, but if collecting were not mentally stimulating it would be a rather boring pastime, would it not?