Ten years ago, I knew a lot less about early figures than I know now. One thing that time has taught me is that pearlware figures I have always thought of as common and readily available are frequently quite uncommon. Back in those days, my exposure to the collections of others perhaps spoiled me. In 2004, I photographed this little pair of gardeners marked SALT in the home of Griselda Lewis.
Very nice, I thought. I should get a pair....but I am still waiting! I have yet to find another good pair of gardeners marked SALT. I am not saying I haven't seen another pair in the past ten years.....but if I have, they were not worth remembering. That same year, I photographed this pair of gardeners in the collection of my friend Nick Burton.
Yes, I know his arm is missing, but when all else is original and quite splendid, who cares? This pair can be attributed to the pot bank dubbed "Tunstall". Again, I admired them and started watching out for a similar pair....and I am still looking!
That's not to say my quest for a pair of gardeners has been totally futile, but it certainly has not been easy. I did finally buy this little pair at auction in Canada---not a simple process, but that's what it took to add a pair of gardeners to my shelf.
That's not to say my quest for a pair of gardeners has been totally futile, but it certainly has not been easy. I did finally buy this little pair at auction in Canada---not a simple process, but that's what it took to add a pair of gardeners to my shelf.
The pair is particularly pretty, I think. Also, although not immediately obvious to the uninitiated, they can be attributed to "Sherratt". Several features suggest the attribution, but the clincher is the presence of tiny four-petalled flowers on his flower pot and at the edges of her sleeves. You only find these on "Sherratt" figures. Alongside is a cluster of these flowers, photographed on the head of a lady in a "Sherratt" TEE TOTAL group.
The dearth of good pairs of gardeners hasn't stopped me from buying fine unusual single figures, like the two lovely ladies below.
This lady gardener (attributed to the Patriotic Group pot bank) has gilded shoes and a feather. She is a firm favorite in my collection....but I have yet to see the male gardener that I am sure was made to accompany her.
| I know not which pot bank made this fine lady gardener. The bocage is correct and complete as shown here. I have seen this lady's companion. However, I have only seen him with a restored bocage...not a pretty sight at all! |
I bought the lady gardener in the pair below for my "academic shelf" because I had not seen her bocage form before. A few years later, I got lucky when I found the gentleman gardener who completes the pair. Making up good pairs in this manner is so sweet!
If you aspire to a grand collection, don't turn your nose up at good examples of "ordinary" subjects. As I have learned, they can be even harder to find than their more impressive brethren,
