I was filled with excited anticipation this month as I awaited the mailman's delivery of my latest Staffordshire figure purchase, and I wasn't disappointed! The petite pearlware figure group of a woman and child, below, is not one that I had recorded hitherto. The colors are just glorious are they not?
As the Coke can shows,, the figure is really quite tiny.
I recognized the woman and child because I have seen them before in another context. They are found riding a donkey and are what I loosely call "the chimney sweep's wife and child." Below is the chimney sweep "family". (illustrated in Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, Vol. 1, figure 29.54; Holding the Past: the William Herbert and Nancy Hunt Collection of Early English Pottery Figures)
Courtesy the William Herbert and Nancy Hunt Collection.
Clearly my recent purchase uses the same molds as were used for the seated woman and child on a donkey. My figures are also certainly intended to be sweeps. Notice the child's soot encrusted face.
I am not sure what the woman holds in her hand--a coin or wafer?
The boy has a restored hand, which is almost to be expected, given its exposed position. A little bit of bocage at the top is lost, but I prefer leaving the figure as is. Any restoration at the very top would be disturbingly eye-catching, and the loss does not bother my eye. As you see, the bocage is a little unusual.
The human brain is a funny thing. I certainly don't understand how mine works, but miraculously it immediately made a connection to a figure group of a parson and clerk with similar features. Seen below, it is recorded in Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, Vol. 2, figure 109.17
Having spoken with the owner of the parson and clerk group, I have confirmed that it probably came from the same pot bank as the chimney sweeps group. The bases are made in the same way, as are the bocage tree trunks and leaves.
This month I got a new car. It is a very lovely luxury car, and it was built for me, so I had to wait for it for a while. Was I excited at its pending arrival? Not one bit. A car is just a car...a conglomeration of parts that in 20 years will be on the scrap heap. On the other hand, I couldn't wait for my little figure to arrive, and I get a huge thrill out of looking at it. All of us who collect know what this feels like, and we are so fortunate to have this passion in our lives.
This month I got a new car. It is a very lovely luxury car, and it was built for me, so I had to wait for it for a while. Was I excited at its pending arrival? Not one bit. A car is just a car...a conglomeration of parts that in 20 years will be on the scrap heap. On the other hand, I couldn't wait for my little figure to arrive, and I get a huge thrill out of looking at it. All of us who collect know what this feels like, and we are so fortunate to have this passion in our lives.
