The Mundane to the Magnificent

The  pandemic has allowed me to spend even more time digging through catalogs, online resources, and the like, and I never cease to be amazed at what turns up. I have long been intrigued by the pottery group on the right, impressed WEDGWOOD and probably made by Ralph Wedgwood, circa 1795. Ralph was a plagiarist extraordinaire, and most of his figures are copies of his contemporaries' work. This is the only Wedgwood figure with a bocage, and for a long time a source has eluded me. Recently, I found the porcelain figure on the left, which sold at Bonhams in 2013.  

Left: Courtesy Bonhams.

The catalog attributes it to Ralph Wood, but I see no basis for the attribution....but at least I am one step closer to solving the puzzle. (I suspect restoration to the outstretched hand on the pottery figure, which perhaps too once held a bird's nest.) 

Old auction catalogs reveal figures ranging from the mundane to the magnificent, and they serve as reminders of the vast array of figures that the potters manufactured....and as reminders of the potential for really interesting collection additions. Some, despite their rarity, would fall within most collecting budgets.  This sweet little figure impressed FRUIT GIRL was part of the esteemed Fitt Reed Collection that sold about eighteen years ago. Many like her were surely made, but I have yet to see another.

Courtesy Lawrence's Auctioneers.

I wish I had a color picture of this lady in a top hat that was part of Green Valley's auction of the Kritzer estate. Again, I have yet to see another.

Courtesy Green Valley Auctions.

More recently, this little reading man went through auction at Bishop & Miller.  At the risk of being repetitive, I have yet to see another, and surely he had a female counterpart?

Courtesy Bishop & Miller.

Of course, if you have a bigger budget and more room on your shelves, larger treasures await.....if  you can live long enough for them to come to market. In 1992, Sotheby's sold this large pearlware setter measuring 17 inches across. Yes, it has a companion model, colored differently, which last sold at Sotheby's in 1989.

Courtesy Sotheby's.

If you have a little less space and want unusual pooches, you may want to wait for  this pair, which sold at Sotheby's in 2002.

Courtesy Sotheby's.

These gorgeous deer with stunning flowers on their bocages have my vote. I don't know where they sold, but it was a long, long time ago.

Because I warned you recently of the pitfalls of buying from the trade, you may think that you have little to lose by shopping at auction instead. Think again. Remember, auctions are where dealers dump their mistakes. Also, auction houses are generalists, and most lack the expertise to give you a reliable condition report--in my experience, only one major auction house consistently gets full marks.  Whereas a dishonest/stupid dealer can usually be shamed --or enticed by the prospect of further business with you--into give you a refund, when the hammer comes down at auction, you are on your own.

Below is a figure group I photographed at a major auction many, many years ago. It appeals to those who want "cute" figures on their shelves, and I am sure it sold very, very well.

So what's wrong? Where do I begin? Once upon a time, a dealer had two elephants, their bocages lost. They probably looked like these (made by Enoch Wood).

What was the dealer to do? How to make a silk purse out of this sow's ear? Elephants are cute, but in this state, who would buy them? Perhaps the dealer contemplated adding bocages from other figures. You shudder, dear reader, but this has been done. Just recently, I spoke with a collector who concluded she had been duped in just this way.

But, in the instance of these two little pachyderms, the dealer had loftier ambitions. With the aid of a restorer, he/she created a figure group the likes of which the Potteries had never seen! As a base for this concoction, the restorer used the base from a Sherratt Flight and Return. Below you see a very nice example of such a group, with the base painted pink rather than blue.

Courtesy Michael J. Smith.

The Flight and Return clearly had some good bocage with it, of the sort seen on the group above. The restorer used those bocage leaves to fabricate a bocage for his "masterpiece". The leaves above the elephants are arranged in a manner not seen on any early Staffordshire piece. Note the bocage trunk narrows suspiciously at the top, and the various shades of green on the leaves mask the glue job needed to hold it all together. 

​Which would you rather have: the humble little FRUIT GIRL at the top of this post of the "cute" and no-doubt-costly elephant group?

So how does a collector sleep at night?  The answer is simple. If you want figures of fine quality--big or small, modestly priced or costly, rare or ordinary--shop with a trustworthy dealer. You will rest easy knowing your purchase was not be akin to shredding your money.

Courtesy John Howard.

Courtesy Andrew Dando.

Courtesy John Howard.

Courtesy Andrew Dando.