Early Staffordshire pearlware and creamware pottery figures

Videos on Early Staffordshire Figures

7/7/2019

We have a new menu tab at the top of this page: Videos.

My three videos on early figures are now up and seem to be working. You can access them via the Videos tab on the menu bar. Or you can find them on YouTube by searching "Early Antique Staffordshire Pottery Figures."

This is my first attempt at this sort of thing, so please let me know how I can do better!

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Pounding Hooves

7/1/2019

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This summer, Dallas, Texas, was again the hotspot for early Staffordshire pottery figures when a lucky collector acquired the stunning pair of equestrian figures shown below. I was fortunate enough to be present when the box bearing these treasures was unpacked, and, as each figure emerged from its tissue and bubble wrap, I was amazed at its size and presence.

antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, pearlware figure, equestrian, Myrna Schkolne

Of course, the bocages add height to the figures, making each taller than other equestrian models, but the impact is about more than mere height. Each horse is strapping, and a good chunk wider than the horse used for most other large equestrian figures. And the people are bigger too. As you look at this pair, you hear pounding hooves--as I placed them on a shelf, I almost expected all else on the shelf to rattle just a little. Although I tried, my photos simply fail to capture the heft of these figures, but I assure you that, by comparison, other equestrian models are mere prancing ponies.

These equestrians can be attributed to the Leather Leaf Group pot bank. The bocages (with thick leathery leaves) and distinctive flowers are found routinely on other Leather Leaf Group figures. Also, the backs of the trunks are painted in a mottled pattern that occurs frequently on figures from this pot bank.

Menageries are the Holy Grail for pottery collectors, but these equestrians are just as impressive and far rarer than most menagerie models. They are colorful, animated, and attractive. Those bold bocages, the eye-catching colors, the horses and dogs caught mid-stride, and the elegant couple with riding crops in their hands...what more could a collector want? Perfect condition? Believe it or not, this pair, while not perfect, comes pretty close. Clearly, they have inspired careful respect for two centuries.

This pair of equestrians depicts a circus reenactment of a hunt, rather than a real-life event. In the early nineteenth century, women generally did not hunt because hunting was not a genteel pastime. Remember that the circus then was a relatively new entertainment genre, and it was all about equestrianism. Circuses reenacted hunts, and women, the circus's glamorous equestrienne stars, participated in these staged events.

P.S. Don't overlook the sweet little dogs on the bases!