}`HPLASErJ€*}.mt 10 .hm 3 .h1Grayson Enterprises Ltd. First NA Serial Rights .h23 January 1991 Copyright 1991 .h3Page #. 1,475 words .LS2        STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURINES     Written by June Grayson    For some devotees of Victoriana, nothing so typifies the   Victorian Age as that body of collectibles known as Staffordshire   figurines. English potters produced these earthenware articles   by the millions during the 18th and 19th centuries. Of humble   origin, and made as cheap toys for the English middle and lower   classes, there is nothing humble now about the prices the best of   these original portrait figures command or about the sophisticat  ed collectors who buy them to grace the finest homes.  π03 Š These colorful images "...provide a chronicle of an age   which included royal births and marriages, glorious victories and   stirring defeats, and heroes and heroines that could make every   heart swell with the pride of being English," according to Bonita   LaMarche, the assistant curator of decorative arts at the Detroit   Institute of Arts. In 1990, Michigan residents were able to see   a traveling exhibit featuring 64 examples of this rare collecti  ble in "Fragile Memories: Staffordshire Figurines from the Jerome   Irving Smith Collection," arranged by the Detroit Institute.  You don't need to be English, however, to succumb to the charm of Staffordshire figurines. Do you like animals? Then you   can seek the comforter dogs that survey the world through soulful   eyes. These spaniel-type dogs have been produced in the hundreds   of thousands during the last century and are still being made   today. Seen for the first time, they may seem crude and ugly,   but they tend to grow on you. Usually sold as a pair of mirror   images for mantel decoration, they were made in white and gold,   black and gold, red and white, and black and white. The Staf  fordshire potters also made Poodles, Dalmatians, St. Bernards,   Whippets, and Pointers as well as hunting hounds holding dead   rabbits in their jaws.   Figurines of exotic animals such as giraffes, camels, ele  phants, zebras, and monkeys appealed to families on an outing to  π0- Š the zoos and circuses that first appeared in England during the   latter half of the 19th century. They were cheap and charming   trinkets that parents could buy for their children as souvenirs.  Figures of common farm animals, however, far outnumbered   those of the exotic ones, appealing as they did to a buying   populace that was still essentially rural. Cow creamers were   useful as well as popular. Milkmaids posed with their cows and   milk pails. Sheep were sometimes shown being shorn. Several   pairs of figures show a little boy and girl with animal pets.  Horses were popular, too, but usually appeared as part of a   portrait figure, such as a military hero depicted on a mas  sivesteed. One figurine shows Dick Turpin, an infamous 18th   century highwayman, mounted on "Black Bess." A figure of Sir   Robert Peel show the famous English statesman astride his favor  ite mare, even though he died from a fall while riding.  Although Staffordshire figurines were produced from 1720 to   1900 (and indeed yet today), the primary interest of most collec  tors is the Victorian period, coinciding with the ascent of Queen   Victoria to the throne in 1837. The figures didn't need to look   like the person they were supposed to represent. A fa  mousactress, recently deceased, magically became the new Queen   Victoria with the addition of a crown and a different name paint  ed on the base. When Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, the   Staffordshire potters immortalized the event. Soon portrait  π0- Š figures including the royal children became popular.  Almost any current event could provide inspiration for a new   series of figures. Admiral Pugh, the foremost authority of   Staffordshire figurines, has suggested that figures can be   grouped into the following categories: 1) Royalty, 2) Statesmen   and Politicians, 3) Military and Exploration, 4) Religious, 5)   Entertainment (Theater, Opera, Ballet, and Circus), 6) Sport, 7)   Crime, 8) Authors, Poets, and Composers, and 9) Miscellaneous. No subject was too gory for representation. Sellers hawked   the likenesses of famous criminals to the crowds gathered for   their public hangings. Another grouping captured the dramatic   moment when a tiger mauled and killed the beloved Ellen Bright, a   lady animal trainer.  Insatiable for subject matter, figurine designers seized   upon postcards, newspaper prints, and even the illustrations from   the covers of popular sheet music of the day for ideas for their   wares. In fact, one way that figurines can be dated is to dis  cover the original print that inspired the figure's design. An   interesting feature of Dr. Pugh's book is that the portrait   figure is often photographed side-by-side with the printed matter   from which the design was taken.   In the early decades of production, such cottage wares and   chimney ornaments were hand-modeled by pressing wet clay into  π0- Š plaster-of-Paris molds. After drying, an assembler put the   pieces together with a liquid solution of diluted clay called   slip before the first firing in a kiln. Then they were decorated   all around with colored enamels and glazes before a final firing.  Some pieces made use of 'bocage', a term referring to the  stylized green foliage of trees and bushes positioned behind the   figures.  As the years went by and mass production took over, designs   and decorations were simplified until by the 1860s only a touch   of black and gilt was used for decoration. Since figures were   designed to be used on a mantel and only viewed from the front   anyway, potters stopped molding and coloring the backs, producing   the so-called Victorian 'flatback' figurine.   „„  Potters seldom marked or dated their wares, making exact   attribution almost impossible. Supposedly, 165 potteries thrive  din the North Staffordshire area itself in 1850. Moreover,   potters freely pirated each other's designs and techniques. The   molds themselves changed ownership frequently because of bank  ruptcy, sickness, and death.   „„  Itinerant peddlers sold the images door-to-door in far-flung   rural areas for only a few pennies apiece. County fairs, open-air   markets, tourist attractions, theater lobbies, and with increas  ing urbanization, local shops provided further distribution. Experts say that the quality of Staffordshire figures de π0- Š clined toward the end of the 19th century, losing the vitality   and naive charm that was indicative of a true folk art. That is   why rare examples in good condition and dating from the 18th   century may sell for thousands of dollars when they come on the   market today. A current price guide for specimens from the later   Victorian period suggests retail buying ranges from $400 to $900,   assuming that each piece is unrepaired and in perfect condition.   Even a very minor defect can lead to an enormous difference in   price. A pair of late 19th century comforter dogs, 15 inches   high, from the estate of Bette Davis, sold at auction for $770 in   1990.  You can find Staffordshire figurines at antique shops,shows,   and auction houses. A museum featuring English ceramics will   usually have representative samples of such figurines on display.   When you tour historical 19th century homes in the United States,   be on the lookout for Staffordshire pottery. You can see what   appears to be a typical small figurine on a wall shelf in Mrs.   Lincoln's bedroom at the Abraham Lincoln home in Springfield,   Illinois.  Would-be collectors should be aware that there have always   been reproductions of Staffordshire figurines. Many of the   original molds still survive and have been used off and on for   re-issues of popular models. Bill Saks, an authority on English   ceramics who writes for antique publications, says, "Without a  π0- Š doubt there are more problems in dealing with Staffordshire   pottery figurines than in anything else at all in English ceram  ics. About 85% of those figures I am asked to evaluate are   modern copies, reproductions, and/or fakes."  Collectors can study the wonderful reference books now   available with many examples of the Staffordshire figurines shown   in full color. The "bible" for any serious Staffordshire col  lector is STAFFORDSHIRE PORTRAIT FIGURES OF THE VICTORIAN ERA, by   Surgeon Rear Admiral P. D. Gordon Pugh. Unfortunately, this is a   very expensive book to buy, although you can probably borrow it   from your public library. The softbound $12.95 book, COLLECTING   VICTORIAN STAFFORDSHIRE POTTERY FIGURES, by Kenyon Charles Kies   provides a good introduction to the field. All yearly antique   price guides and books on British pottery and porcelain have   entries under Staffordshire dogs and pottery figures. When you   are ready to buy, you can protect yourself by dealing with a   reputable antique dealer who specializes in English ceramics as   well as by requesting a certificate of authenticity for your   purchase.  Even if you can't find a nearby antique store, you can see   modestly priced reproductions of Staffordshire-type dogs and   figures imported from Taiwan at small import shops such as the   Bombay Company, in your regional shopping mall.  The owner of an upscale import shop in metropolitan Chicago  π0- Š tells me that she imports current reproductions of Staffordshire   figurines made in England today from the original 19th century   molds. Nothing,it seems, can dim the collector's attraction   tothese beguiling Staffordshire figurines.   #####