A collector asked me which figure in my collection I would keep if I could only keep one. Impossible to answer. How would I choose? But this modest pair of danides is one group I would be very sad to leave behind.
This pair is a past purchase from John Howard. My collection does not lack dandies, this model is not that unusual, and yet this couple almost made me swoon at first sight. Why? Firstly, this dandy and his dandizette are fantastically modeled with great expressions on their faces. Next, the enamels are subtle and soft, making these dandies appear to have just stepped out of the past. To top it, the group has absolutely no restoration; also no damage aside from a base chip and a teeny chip to the last flower on her bonnet. And note the beautiful garland on her bonnet! To hold this group is to touch the past.
John Howard's web site prices items by letter categories A through E. This one should be price group P. P for priceless. I just love it.
Did you notice that our dandizette holds an umbrella while her gentleman carries a handbag? Male earthenware dandies sometimes have handbags because that was the fashion in the early 1800s. In those times, gentleman might wear loosely fitting trousers for casual wear, but formal wear mandated tightly fitting pantaloons or breeches. These garments had to fit SO snuggly that underwear was not worn lest it disturb fit! Pockets could not be tolerated for the same reason, so dandy gentlemen carried little handbags called 'reticules'--and we see these in earthenware dandies, and in the pair pictured here. The first manbag? There is no end to what I learn from Staffordshire pottery!
John Howard's web site prices items by letter categories A through E. This one should be price group P. P for priceless. I just love it.
Did you notice that our dandizette holds an umbrella while her gentleman carries a handbag? Male earthenware dandies sometimes have handbags because that was the fashion in the early 1800s. In those times, gentleman might wear loosely fitting trousers for casual wear, but formal wear mandated tightly fitting pantaloons or breeches. These garments had to fit SO snuggly that underwear was not worn lest it disturb fit! Pockets could not be tolerated for the same reason, so dandy gentlemen carried little handbags called 'reticules'--and we see these in earthenware dandies, and in the pair pictured here. The first manbag? There is no end to what I learn from Staffordshire pottery!
