Staffordshire figure

Staffordshire figures are a type of popular pottery figurine made in England from the 18th century onward. Many Staffordshire figures made from 1740 to 1900 were produced by small potteries and makers' marks are generally absent. Most Victorian figures (1837 to 1900) were designed to stand on a shelf or mantlepiece and are therefore only modelled and decorated where visible from the front and sides. These are known as 'flatbacks'. They were shaped either by press moulding or slip casting.^[2]

Figures were mainly made in

Of the huge variety of figures produced, the

Various manufacturing processes were in use at different periods of time,[6] frequently overlapping. Four categories for those produced up to 1900 are:^[7]

• Circa 1740–1780 Early figures: rare
  salt-glazed stoneware with limited range of colours; coloured lead glazes applied to the biscuit body, then fired.^[8]
• Circa 1780–1840 Pratt Ware figures, colours applied to the biscuit body, then covered with clear lead glaze, then fired.[9]
• Circa 1800–1837 Pre-Victorian Staffordshire figures, clear lead glaze applied to the biscuit body and fired, then colours applied over the lead glaze and fired.^[10]
• Circa 1837–1900 Victorian Staffordshire figures, blue-tinged lead glaze applied to the biscuit body and fired, then colours applied over the lead glaze and fired, finally gilt applied and fired.^[11]

• 
  Hawk figures, salt-glazed, circa 1750. MET 99567
• 
  Ralph Wood, coloured glazes

  , circa 1780
• 
  Prattware cow and calf bocage figure, underglaze

  colours, circa 1800
• 
  Medici lion, fine painted enamels on lead glaze

  , circa 1820

Staffordshire figures began to be produced around the 1740s, or perhaps the 1730s. Initially they had little or no painted colour, typically black dots to highlight eyes, buttons, or shoes. Early subjects included genre figures of ladies and gentlemen, musicians, lovers, soldiers and the like. Two elaborate group subjects were the "arbour group", with two lovers seated in front of a bocage of foliage, and the "pew group" of figures sitting on a high-backed bench. The arbour group is a simplification of porcelain groups, whereas the pew group is more original to Staffordshire.^[12] Typically it has two or three figures, with a woman in the centre; great attention is paid to details of hair and clothing. The setting is not church, as the usual name suggests, but a comfortable home or inn, where high-backed settles (protecting from draughts) were a common piece of furniture.^[13]

The groups are usually in

• 
  Pew group, c. 1745, salt-glazed stoneware
• 
  Arbour group, c. 1750; only the eyes have paint. The bocage behind is built up from moulded sections.
• 
  The inflammatory

  High Church Anglican divine Henry Sacheverell

  (d. 1724), c. 1745, stoneware
• 
  Arbour group, c. 1750; lead-glazed earthenware
• 
  Cat, c. 1745, with agateware effects, and underglaze blue highlights
• 
  Cat, c. 1750, "Whieldon-type" in

  tortoiseshell ware
• 
  Oriental lady and her dog, c. 1750,

  tortoiseshell ware by Thomas Whieldon
• 
  "Whieldon-type" milkmaid and her cow, with fanciful bocage, c. 1750s
• 
  Soldier and man reading (not a pair), "Whieldon-type", c. 1760
• 
  Pair of water buffalos and Chinese boys, "Whieldon-type", c. 1760

1770–1800

From about 1770, as the Staffordshire industry continued to grow, and improve its products, the artistic standards of the best figures improved considerably, though at the loss of most of the

More makers and modellers are identifiable, including three generations of

As with porcelain figures, the same model might be produced in fully painted and plain versions, and the painting often varies greatly between different examples, especially when moulds were in use for several years. Many model types introduced in this period remained popular until at least the middle of the next century, for example the Parson and Moses type, derived from a print of 1736 by William Hogarth, The Sleeping Congregation.^[18]

• 
  Couple with birdcage,

  John Voyez

  , c. 1765
• 
  Woman feeding chickens, c. 1765
• 
  William III as a Roman emperor,

  Ralph Wood

  II, 1770s. Lead-glazed earthenware, 14 inches
• 
  Ralph Wood

  II, c. 1790. About 12 inches (30 cm) tall
• 
  Large classical figures for the wealthy, Prudence and Fortitude, c. 1790, 20ins tall. Probably Enoch Wood & Caldwell
• 
  Demosthenes, version c. 1800 of a figure from the 1780s, over 18 inches tall (47.5 cm), by Enoch Wood

Social context

In the 19th century, especially after 1820, earthenware figures very largely abandoned attempts to compete with upmarket porcelain figures, and the larger firms pulled out of the earthenware figure market. In fact the taste for figures at the top of the market had greatly reduced even for the porcelain companies. Instead, increasing prosperity opened new popular markets for the figures, and Staffordshire figure manufacturers went downmarket, reducing the complexity of their shapes and painting, and gradually broadening their range of subjects. At the same time Staffordshire transfer-printed tablewares of excellent quality were becoming cheaper, but this market was becoming dominated by the larger potteries, perhaps pushing smaller operations into the figure market.

They were able to greatly increase the volume of figures by appealing to this new and much larger market, and more manufacturers were active in this area. These trends of increasing production, and decreasing quality and prices, continued for most of the century. From the mid-century, or even 1840, all figures were aimed at the low end of the market, and once again few makers are identifiable. Higher quality figures were made in porcelain, and new ceramic materials like Parian ware, as well as some types of stoneware, but in the 19th century "Staffordshire figure" comes to denote specifically the cheaper earthenware types.

Staffordshire figures document, in a unique and tangible manner, a particular aspect of the social history of 19th century England.^[19] Oliver describes them as important English folk art, "of the people for the people".^[20]

Very similar designs frequently appear in a number of different versions, as makers copied each others' designs, and as numbers of moulds were made for popular figures.

Industrialisation, an exodus from country to town, and population increase proceeded throughout the century.^[21] For the first time in modern history, working-class people had funds sufficient to buy figures if they so wished; the prices of the cheapest class of figure had dropped considerably. Manufacturers aimed to appeal to public taste, thereby leaving a physical record of the pursuits and interests of the time in a fascinating array of pottery figures.

19th-century types

Rural idylls, farm animals and pets

Figures reminding townspeople of their rural past proved immensely popular, with images of idealised pleasures and pastimes. However, these pastoral images had been more popular in the 18th century, and became less important as the 19th century went on.

• 
  "Contest", one of a pair, 1800-1815, pearlware
• 
  "Perswaition", 1815–25, a misspelling of "Persuasion", but based on a print of 1809, not the Jane Austen novel of 1818.^[22]
• 
  Bocage group, idyllic rural scene, circa 1820.
• 
  The Tithe Pig, 1825-1830, pearlware. Like many images of the clergy, this has an element of satire.
• 
  Fantasy depiction of a country cottage, circa 1860.
• 
  Small staffordshire pottery figure of a castle 2.6ins tall, circa 1860.
• 
  Small Staffordshire pottery figures of recumbent sheep, 2ins tall, circa 1855.

Domestic pets were another favourite. Queen Victoria's collection of animals and her popularity with the nation resulted in an explosion of cats, spaniels, whippets,

• 
  Greyhound pen holders, c. 1825-1840
• 
  Pair of Staffordshire cat figures, circa 1920.
• 
  Pair of Whippets and Hares figures, circa 1860.
• 
  Inkwell, parrot and lamb, circa 1860,
• 
  Recumbent Staffordshire spaniel figure, circa 1860.
• 
  Small staffordshire pottery figure of inkwell 2.1ins tall dogs on cushion, circa 1860

Public life and sensations

Portrait figures of the era^[24] depict all the best known personalities of the period and no small number who were briefly newsworthy only to fade from memory. Especially popular were those depicting figures involved in reforms, victories at war, hero's and heroines whose activities impacted directly on working people's lives. Characters from legend and fiction were also popular.

• 
  Freed Slave, marking the abolition of Slavery in the British Empire, 1833-34. The open book reads "BLESS GOD / THANK BRITON / ME NO SLAVE".
• 
  Queen Victoria riding, c. 1838, at the start of her reign.
• 
  Portrait figure of Richard Oastler, effective campaigner for reform of factory conditions. Scroll reads 'WHITE SLAVERY'. Circa 1860.
• 
  Chief of Staff during Crimean War, General James Simpson captured Sebastopol in 1855, then knighted, c. 1855.
• 
  Sir Robert Peel

  , popular Prime Minister responsible for establishing organised police forces and Public Health Act of 1848, c. 1856.
• 
  Florence Nightingale, here with a wounded officer, demonstrated to Crimean War generals that cleanliness saved thousands of lives. Wrote first Nursing Manual and founded the first Nursing School. Circa 1856.
• 
  Figure labelled 'George Washington', though clearly depicting Benjamin Franklin, c. 1855.
• 
  Crimean war

  figure 'Soldier's Farewell', circa 1853.
• 
  Bust of

  Mary Queen of Scots

  , c. 1815, pearlware
• 
  George Washington bust, Enoch Wood, c. 1818. Finely-modelled busts like this were less common than in the late 18th century.

Other figures celebrated scandals, murders, fashion, sport, and the life-transforming novelties of clean water and railways.

• 
  The Death of Munrow

  , a notorious hunting accident in India in 1792, evidently still famous in the 1820s, when this was made.
• 
  Bull baiting

  group, 1820-1830
• 
  "Polito's Menagerie", a real touring show with "burds (sic) and beasts from all parts of the world", c. 1830.^[25]
• 
  'Death of the Lion Queen'. Ellen Bright, trainer, mauled to death in front of a circus audience. Circa 1856.
• 
  Leading boxers such as Tom Cribb (d. 1848) were popular subjects
• 
  Group possibly representing

  Euston Station

  in London, or generally celebrating the rapid expansion of rail travel, 1850s
• 
  Staffordshire 'Stanfield Hall' figure, key location in famously popular murder case. Circa 1860.
• 
  '

  Bloomers

  ', a fashion craze. Circa 1860.
• 
  Pair of whippets depicting the sport of hare coursing, c. 1860.
• 
  Staffordshire spill vase figure celebrating the arrival of clean water following the Great Stink and Public Health Act of 1848.

Literature and the theatre

Theatrical,^[26] and literary subjects are common.

• 
  The actor David Garrick as 'Richard III', c. 1860
• 
  The fictional Uncle Tom and Eva, 1855-1860
• 
  From a Welsh legend, the bloodstained hound

  Llywelyn the Great

  , who returns and kills Gelert in error and never smiled again. c. 1860.
• 
  Ride of Mazeppa, based on Lord Byron's poem of 1818. Depicting the horse as a zebra is a flight of fancy. Spill vase, c. 1860.

Exotic animals

Lions,^[27] giraffes, tigers, zebras and elephants generated huge excitement, popularised by travelling menageries. Many artists could not resist the temptation to turn horses in zebras.

• 
  Leopard, 19th century
• 
  Zebra attacked by a snake, 1850-1870
• 
  Giraffe spill vases, 1845-1855
• 
  Lion, glass eyes, spray decoration, 1890-1900.
• 
  Large elephant figure, circa 1860.
• 
  Small staffordshire pottery figures of elephants 2.4ins tall, circa 1860.
• 
  Private collection of zebra figures 1850-1880

Religion

Religious,

Types from the late 18th century satirizing the clergy continued well into the 19th, but new types did not appear; the most popular remained Vicar and Moses, The Tithe Pig and the drunken Parson and Clerk (or Inebriation).[33]

• 
  John Wesley, an influential preacher in the Potteries, circa 1840. Derived from an Enoch Wood bust from the previous century.
• 
  The charismatic Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, c. 1860.
• 
  Virgin Mary

  and baby Jesus, c. 1860.
• 
  Girl at prayer, circa 1860.
• 
  Temperance movement figure 'Band of Hope', a society for children who had taken the pledge, circa 1847.^[34]

Notes

References

• Briggs, John, "Nonconformity and the Pottery Industry", in Modern Christianity and Cultural Aspirations, eds. David Bebbington, Timothy Larsen, 2003, A&C Black,
  ISBN 0826462626, 9780826462626, google books
• Poole, Julia, English Pottery (Fitzwilliam Museum Handbooks), 1995, Cambridge University Press,
  ISBN 0521475201
• Wood, Frank L., The World of British Stoneware: Its History, Manufacture and Wares, 2014, Troubador Publishing Ltd,
  ISBN 178306367X
  , 9781783063673
• Schkolne, Myrna, Obsession: Collection of Early English Pottery, Vol.1, 2020, [2]
• Schkolne, Myrna, Obsession: Collection of Early English Pottery, Vol.2, 2020, [3]
• Schkolne, Myrna, Obsession: Collection of Early English Pottery, Vol.3, 2020,[4]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Staffordshire figures.

• Early Staffordshire Figures Introduction Video [5]
• Staffordshire Figures Association [6]
• Staffordshire Figures at the Metropolitan Museum, New York [7]
• Victoria and Albert Museum [8]
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Staffordshire Figures [9]
• Early Staffordshire Figures How to Tell Real from Fake/Repro Video [10]