Early Staffordshire pearlware and creamware pottery figures

Gut Instinct

12/25/2012

We try to specify with scientific precision the features that help attribute figures to common pot banks of origin, but some times gut instinct kicks in.

A year or so ago, Andrew Dando sold the spill vase with cows at the top of the page. Currently, John Howard is offering the spill vase with sheep below it. Is the resemblance not remarkable? No, I know the sheep don't look like the cows or vice versa, but the spill vases are so similar, as is the color palette and even the glazes. I bet that both these came from the same unknown pot bank. I am surprised that whoever bought the cows hasn't bought the sheep....but perhaps he/she hasn't seen it yet.

To stretch the long arm of coincidence even further, look at the sheep alongside. Now the spill vase has been replaced with a bocage. The base and the big sheep are from the same molds as used for the sheep spill vase group, so I suspect that it too originates from that same unidentified pot bank. I have nothing scientific to hang my hat on here. Just gut feeling. And sometimes that has to be good enough!

I have always thought that little sheep groups, such as the two below are from a common potbank.

The groups are not identical (what an observation!!) but the bases are from the same molds as are some of the sheep. I have recorded three groups like this, all on this base, and they all share common elements.

This little spill vase (left) with two dogs does, to my mind, come from the same pot bank as the two larger vases immediately above it. I have recorded this little vase with a sheep--and again the resemblance to elements of the larger vases is notable.

As for these two teeny spills, one with a sheep and one with a goat...well, somehow I don't think these are from the same pot bank as any of the bigger vases above. I am looking for other members of their "family"...but they are so sweet I just had to show them to you meanwhile.

The top end of the early pottery market is hot. Serious collectors want the very best, and they will pay for it. Everything else is sort of stagnant, at best. It may not always be this way, so if you see a nice small figure, add it to your stash. In my experience, these figures are relatively inexpensive and particularly charming, and they will add endlessly to your collecting pleasure.

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George and the Dragon

12/18/2012

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Most figures of George and the Dragon look like this one, formerly in the stock of John Howard.

John's figure is a particularly nice example. This model itself is very like the model that Ralph Wood introduced circa 1785.

Ralph Wood was a modeler extraordinaire, and his designs lived on for decades after his death. I don't know who made this figure, but it is after the Ralph Wood design.

Ralph Wood's cousin, Enoch Wood, saw things slightly differently. He made St. George and the Dragon to look like this.

I think this is a stunner. A powerful figure, is it not? The dragon is divine. Note the large four-petalled flowers on the base. These, as we discussed last week, are specific to Wood & Caldwell. This figure is well-known, but it is far from common. I have recorded only a handful. This example has traces of the Wood & Caldwell mark on the reverse. Couple that with the silver luster decoration (introduced in 1805) and we know the figure was made between 1805 and 1818.

This St. George and Dragon is a large figure--a full 11 inches without the spear. Until recently, I didn't know that Wood & Caldwell made this figure in two sizes. Below is the smaller. The smaller figure has the Wood & Caldwell mark on the reverse so it was made between 1790 and 1818. Again, note the characteristic four-petalled flowers on the base.

The two figures differ very markedly in size. The large figure is 11 inches tall by 9 inches wide. The smaller is 8 inches by 6.8 inches. As you see when the figures are placed side by side, the horse, George, and the base are from quite different molds. Only the dragon seems to be molded identically.

Enoch Wood made several other figures in more than one size. I have observed figures depicting the four seasons in two sizes. Also, his figures representing Old Age occur in two sizes. Which of these two St. George and Dragons is earlier? Hard to tell. Possibly they were made at the same time to cater to different pockets. And if you find one, reach into your pocket because they are splendid things.

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Yay!

12/16/2012

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There is now a search box at the top of this page. At last, we can search the site.

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Fast-footed Felines

12/11/2012

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This sweet little feline was one of the first items to flee Andrew Dando's exhibition (currently open on his web site).

Although this leopard was probably one of a pair originally, a single is very, very worth having, as somebody clearly recognized. I haven't seen this little leopard with bocage in the flesh before, but I know his cousins (made without bocages). They are photographed below in one of my favorite collection displays.

Now is that not eye-candy??? Figures like this have vanished from the market. It takes the death of a collector for them to resurface.

Another rapid departure from Andrew's site was this little tiger.

I have seen this feline before, although it too is far from common. Here is a pair photographed for my book---I worry that all the rarities in my new book will leave the impression that these things are ordinary and easy to find. Trust me. They are not!!

Here our little feline is spotted and her mate is striped. In all cases, the animals are painted as made. I have seen one pair that was painted (by a restorer) to match, so beware of a pair with matching coats. They may well be correct, but then again they may not be.

Note the ball traditionally beneath a lion's paw has in these cases been simplified into a blue blob that is almost an extension of the leg. I think that these small felines were made by the potter John Hall, who was not the most persnickety of potters when it came to details. His work has a charming sloppiness. Hall used several types of bocages and flowers, but he really favored red and blue bocage flowers in combination. These large 6-pointed star-like flowers in my experience only occur on figures with Hall features. In preparing my book, I was thrilled to discover them on this marked Hall figure of Elijah, below.

The pair of felines and the figure of Elijah were generously given to me by collector friends to include in my book. Discovering them helped me substantiate some of my convictions on Hall. Do any of you have a figure in your collections that you suspect was made by Hall? If so, please shout!

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Enoch Wood/Wood & Caldwell Flower

12/4/2012

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Enoch Wood was perhaps the Potteries most illustrious son. His career spanned six decades (1783-1840). Some of the figures he produced are remarkable accomplishments, but most are rather ordinary. Today, examples in nice condition are far from ordinary, and they make fine additions to a collection.

Enoch Wood used several marks over his career, but he used them only rarely. Perhaps the best known mark is the impressed "WOOD & CALDWELL" mark he used while in partnership with James Caldwell from January 1791 to July 1818.

This Britannia in the Brighton Museum has a Wood & Caldwell mark impressed on the back. Silver luster, such as you see on Britannia's helmet, bodice and breastplate, was only introduced commercially in 1805, so you can date this marked figure to 1805-1818. Unmarked examples of Britannia without silver luster can theoretically date from anywhere within the Enoch Wood period because Enoch Wood probably continued making Britannia from these very molds long after his business partnership with James Caldwell ceased.

Look at the four-petalled pink flower on the center front of Britannia's base. It occurs on figures with the Wood & Caldwell mark, and on unmarked figures that link to Enoch Wood. In other words, Enoch Wood used this flower during and after his partnership with James Caldwell. This flower is akin to an Enoch Wood signature.

This is a close up look at the same Enoch Wood flower on another figure.

The little leaves and other small flowers on the base of Britannia are like those on many other figures Enoch Wood made--but other potters used similar leaves and flowers. Similarly, most Enoch Wood bocages are very like those used by other potters. With some exceptions (to be discussed at a later date), these bocage forms are not specific to Enoch Wood, so they cannot help us identify an Enoch Wood figure. But that large flower never fails. Here you see it again in the stock of Castle Antiques.

Can you see the large orange flower on the base of the doe? That's the Enoch Wood flower. Lots of other things about this pair of deer are quite typical of Enoch Wood. In particular, note the bocage fronds, best viewed from the reverse of the figures.

Each bocage frond has one leaflet carefully placed atop four others. This is a typical Enoch Wood form. But it is not an Enoch Wood 'exclusive', which is why that large flower on the base is so essential for attribution.

The base of the stag, viewed from beneath is rather interesting.

A workman scratched his initials "NN" into the clay, under the glaze. We don't know his identity, but somehow the initials personalize the figure and link us to a long-dead creator.

But back to that Enoch Wood flower. Here you see a very generous scattering of them on a small spill vase, formerly in the stock of Andrew Dando.

Pretty, are they not? This flower really is an invaluable tool in attributing an unmarked figure to Enoch Wood. There are other tools, and they will be laid out in detail with clear photographs in my next book. A sort of identikit, if you will.

The little details on our figures matter. They elevate collecting from mere mindless acqusition to an intellectual pursuit. Most figures in your collection are screaming at you, wanting you to piece together their puzzle. So start looking, And shout if you have questions.

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