I skipped last month's blog posting...my first miss in years. Not a great start to 2019, but it happened for a reason. I was obsessively working on a major revamp of Obsession, which is now available on the Books tab of this site for free down load. In the process, I took lots of new photographs, added figures, increased the size of all the photos, and improved the text. I hope you enjoy the result.
There is a saying in North Carolina, "You never know how you look till you get your picture took," and it is so very true when it comes to Staffordshire pottery figures. I find that looking through the lens of the camera focuses my attention on the tiny details that matter, the elements that make each figure special. Case in point is the group below, which I have owned since my early collecting days. The quality cannot be faulted, and the group is as fresh and clean as if it were made yesterday.
There is a saying in North Carolina, "You never know how you look till you get your picture took," and it is so very true when it comes to Staffordshire pottery figures. I find that looking through the lens of the camera focuses my attention on the tiny details that matter, the elements that make each figure special. Case in point is the group below, which I have owned since my early collecting days. The quality cannot be faulted, and the group is as fresh and clean as if it were made yesterday.
But look at it piece by piece, and those little musicians become real people, with expressive faces and beautifully decorated garb. Even the animals acquire distinct personalities.
The magic really is in the details. Notice the amazing cockades on those hats. Each is as crisp as can be.....and I love the carefully dotted eyebrows.
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I am an enthusiastic advocate of small figures. Yes, the biggies--the menageries, the bull baitings, the Death of Munrows....all have POW. But somehow there is less detail in them, less for the eye to dawdle over and ponder. And, I might add, you can buy a whole shelf of small figures for less than the price of the big groups we collectors seem to covet.
I enjoy my tiny treasures enormously, but am I alone in this? The little pair of Turks (below) are so very fine and give me endless pleasure.
I enjoy my tiny treasures enormously, but am I alone in this? The little pair of Turks (below) are so very fine and give me endless pleasure.
My path to this pair was a rather a winding one. I first bought two males in a lot at auction, the two you see in the picture below. Then I acquired a female--she really is a surprisingly rare figure--and that enabled me to make a pair. Perhaps someday I will find a lady for my bachelor Turk, or perhaps I will part with him, but I must admit that I enjoy the three figures just as they stand.
So here's what I don't understand: Andrew Dando offered a pair of Turks in his December exhibition. This is the only other pair of these charming figures that I have recorded. Modestly priced, it remained unsold after the exhibition and went into his stock on his site.
Courtesy Andrew Dando
Another tiny pair that I enjoy is shown below. I bought these musicians and their pooches from Elinor Penna very many moons ago, and my pleasure in them continues to this day.
Figures of quality have become so rare, and their prices keep going up and up at auction--if you can find any to bid on in the first place. So why has no-one failed to see the beauty in a similar pair that David Boyer has had on his site for a while? They should have sold immediately!
Courtesy Mears and Boyer.
This posting is NOT intended as a plug for any particular dealer. I buy from them all---but that is hardly and endorsement because I would buy from the devil himself if he had what I wanted! This posting is intended to ask you to enjoy the detail in your figures. Focusing in this way will sharpen your eye and enhance your pleasure.
Visitors to our home often ask me which is the single figure I would keep if I could only keep one, and I tend to point to my small Wombwell's menagerie. But truth be told, if I could only keep one figure in my final years, any one of my smaller figures would fit the bill. If I am ga-ga and bed ridden, I would be quite content to clutch this small sheep, bought from John Howard a long time ago.
Visitors to our home often ask me which is the single figure I would keep if I could only keep one, and I tend to point to my small Wombwell's menagerie. But truth be told, if I could only keep one figure in my final years, any one of my smaller figures would fit the bill. If I am ga-ga and bed ridden, I would be quite content to clutch this small sheep, bought from John Howard a long time ago.
John's stock is consistently the very finest, and its quality is fairly reflected in the price....but it doesn't take deep pockets to achieve supreme pleasure. I would be just as happy clutching the little "Sherratt" sheep (below) bought on eBay for a paltry amount.
My list of new year resolutions includes revisiting my collection to refocus on the detail in the figures. God is in the detail, after all. The small things are really what matter most.
PS: If you are among the brave who plough through the text of Obsession, please point out the errors that surely abound! I can be reached at [email protected]
PS: If you are among the brave who plough through the text of Obsession, please point out the errors that surely abound! I can be reached at [email protected]
