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.
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.
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.
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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!
