In the universe of antique Staffordshire pottery figures, the two groups below stand out because of their stunning, unusual bocages. Only a handful of figures sport bocages of this form, and, until recently, we have not even been able to guess at who made them.
Courtesy the William Herbert and Nancy Hunt Collection.
Courtesy Bonhams.
Our collective knowledge took a giant leap forward recently when the widow below with the same bocage came to auction. As pretty as the front is, the most interesting aspect is the mark on the reverse. It is the mark of the potter John Walton.
Courtesy Golding, Young, & Mawer.
Courtesy Golding, Young, & Mawer.
John Walton was a prolific manufacturer. No suprise really, given that he potted for over thirty years. In that time, Walton produced more than eighty MARKED figure models. He would almost definitely have produced unmarked models too, but we have little basis for attributing unmarked figure to him.
Until now, each and every one of the bocage forms on marked Walton figures is of a sort that multiple potters used. But the large-leafed bocage on the groups shown above occurs so very rarely that there is reason to assume it is specific to Walton.
For the record, marked Walton Widows also occurs with the generic bocage of the sort seen on the example below.
Until now, each and every one of the bocage forms on marked Walton figures is of a sort that multiple potters used. But the large-leafed bocage on the groups shown above occurs so very rarely that there is reason to assume it is specific to Walton.
For the record, marked Walton Widows also occurs with the generic bocage of the sort seen on the example below.
Marked WALTON
What other figures occur with that rare large-leafed bocage, and what are their links to Walton? The beautiful lion and unicorn below certainly have bocages of that very form. Although they are unmarked, I am now certain that Walton made them.
Supporting my conviction is the marked WALTON pair below with a rather common bocage form.
Marked WALTON.
The Potteries Museum owns this beautiful figure of St. Peter, again unmarked and with that distinctive bocage. I believe it too was made by Walton.
Courtesy The Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent.
I wish I could show you a marked Walton Peter, but here's the strange thing: paired figures of Peter and Paul occur with Paul marked WALTON...but Peter is NEVER marked! The WALTON mark is integral to the mold used for the base of Paul, but it seems that Peter's mold was made without a mark.
The figure of St. Paul is marked "WALTON" but the companion St. Peter is unmarked.
For those of us who focus on attributing figures to makers, the plot now thickens.
The rare nanny-and-child group shown at the top of this posting also occurs with another bocage form. In the example below, the leaves are arranged in clusters of three. Did Walton make this group too? Is this bocage possibly one that Walton also used?
The rare nanny-and-child group shown at the top of this posting also occurs with another bocage form. In the example below, the leaves are arranged in clusters of three. Did Walton make this group too? Is this bocage possibly one that Walton also used?
We see that same bocage form on an unmarked St. Peter. Again, did Walton make it?
If such three-leaf combinations were specific to Walton, it opens the door to attributing a host of other unmarked figures to him. The trail grows warmer!
