Antique Staffordshire pottery lions are so very English. You can quickly distinguish an early Staffordshire lion from a lion made in some other country because the modeling differs. English lions are human in an odd sort of way, and I find myself drawn to them. I was happy to come across this little pearlware lion this summer. He really is quite small, just around 5 inches high.
Nice, isn't he? He also happens to be an unrecorded model that can be attributed to the potter John Dale. Those floral clusters on the base are the give-away, as are the bocage flowers with twelve petals (six short petals alternating with six long).
There is, on the whole, a consistency in the style of each pot bank, and Dale is no exception. I find Dale figures second only to "Sherratt" in their appeal. That bright apple green that Dale favored is such a happy color, and the glaze is just right. Oddly, Dale made many of his felines with wide-open mouths painted red. You see that again on the tigers pulling the splendid Dale chariot below--and note the use of that bright apple green color on the base.
And you see the same gaping red mouth again on the Dale felines below--and yes, they both have apple-green bases.
Like the little lion, the big tiger immediately above has those distinctive Dale flowers on the base. And notice the distinctive tooling, sort of like teeth marks, on these bases. This is another Dale feature.
As I said, the little lion I discovered this summer is unrecorded, and I do wish I had found him before the publication of Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840. I have also since discovered in a private collection a small camel that can be attributed to Dale. He is a sweet little thing, probably also around 5 inches tall, and I know of no other like him. Note he has the same bocage leaves and flowers as the little lion.
As I said, the little lion I discovered this summer is unrecorded, and I do wish I had found him before the publication of Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840. I have also since discovered in a private collection a small camel that can be attributed to Dale. He is a sweet little thing, probably also around 5 inches tall, and I know of no other like him. Note he has the same bocage leaves and flowers as the little lion.
Next year, I intend expanding my web site--or perhaps doing a completely new site--to illustrate the figures I have discovered since the publication of Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840. And I will be adding Pratt ware figures and color glazed figures to that site too. So if you have something that you would like included, please send it to me at [email protected].
