Last year I bid at a UK auction on what amounted to half a figure group--or, more correctly, I could see only half of what I intended buying. Just hours before the sale, I noticed, on the far left of a crowded lot photograph, a fragment of a group that demanded my attention. As often is the case, the auction house had included it in a lot of twelve miscellaneous ceramic items that I had no desire to acquire. With the sale only hours away—sadly in the middle of the night Texas time—I could see just enough to know that the partially hidden figure group was an unrecorded example attributable to Obadiah Sherratt's pottery. Just what I wanted!
The group (far left above) has now emerged from that unlikely setting and reveals itself below as a charming bird-nesting subject that strongly displays Sherratt characteristics.
I had recognized the small floral posies on the base of the group as those frequently encountered on the bases of Sherratt figures--they are akin to Sherratt signatures-- but most intriguing is the treatment of the bocage. Rather than the usual leaves, the branches of the tree are decorated with those same distinctive floral posies used on the base—a feature that, to my knowledge, has not been previously recorded.
The boy and the girl in the group correspond to rare known Sherratt models shown below. Their combination here in a bird-nesting composition results in a particularly appealing and previously undocumented arrangement.
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The group recently arrived at our home in Dallas—appropriately just as spring begins—its lively subject perfectly suited to the season.
What happened to the other eleven items I purchased? I have no idea. I left them with the auctioneer and suspect they found their way to a charity shop.
What happened to the other eleven items I purchased? I have no idea. I left them with the auctioneer and suspect they found their way to a charity shop.
