In the realm of antique Staffordshire pottery figures, mysteries abound. In preparing Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, I thought I would go crazy trying to sort out the small figures of girls with baskets made by the "Sherratt" pot bank. As you see in the pair below, the girls' heads are different.
The girl facing right has a sleek head, while the girl facing left has a puffy head. Turns out that "Sherratt" made the girl looking to her left with no less than THREE different heads; and the girl facing right was made with two!
Here is the girl facing right, and she has either a a sleek or puffy hairstyle.
Here is the girl facing right, and she has either a a sleek or puffy hairstyle.
And the girl facing left has either a tight cap, a puffy hairdo, or a puffy cap (no, it is not just the puffy head painted to look like a cap!)
These oddities are not so surprising and confirm two of my beliefs:
Given that I have recorded a reasonable number of single "Sherratt" basket girls, I thought the odds of finding a true pair were somewhere between remote and non-existent, but I got lucky recently when this twosome came up at auction.
- the "Sherratt" pot bank functioned over a great many years--the range of "Sherratt" figures is so enormous that this conclusion is hardly rocket-science!
- that very many small figures, although designed to pair, were sold separately, so the buyer might buy either a single of a pair.
Given that I have recorded a reasonable number of single "Sherratt" basket girls, I thought the odds of finding a true pair were somewhere between remote and non-existent, but I got lucky recently when this twosome came up at auction.
As you see, they are a very true pair in that both seem to have been painted at the same time by the same hand. Note how the petals of the right hand flower have been painted on each--the quite unusual coloring was deliberate.
My husband is somewhat mystified as to why I had to buy this true pair, when we already own the enchanting little pair at the top of this blog article. I didn't try to explain! But don't let the existence of the lone true pair deter you from buying an assembled pair. My first pair has given me much pleasure, and if you assemble or buy your own pair you will love it too.
My husband is somewhat mystified as to why I had to buy this true pair, when we already own the enchanting little pair at the top of this blog article. I didn't try to explain! But don't let the existence of the lone true pair deter you from buying an assembled pair. My first pair has given me much pleasure, and if you assemble or buy your own pair you will love it too.
