Fired up about the news
Names that spring to mind include the Wood family, Ralph Salt, John Walton and William Pratt. But for my money, at least, none of them modelled beast or fowl better than Obadiah Sherratt.
The Wood family, headed by Ralph I (1715-1772) produced a great many figures of rustic inspiration ranging from nesting birds to crude and ignorant attempts at lions and elephants.
Ralph Salt’s tithe pig groups are great fun, while Walton’s sheep and Pratt’s squirrels and deer are good enough. But Sherratt, who is listed in the Staffordshire trade directory of 1822-23 as a master potter and toy and figure maker in Burslem, clearly specialised in animals, even though the cruel, the gruesome and often the bizarre were his forte. One of Sherratt’s most famous animal groups features, for example, the cruel “sport” of bull-baiting, made illegal in 1835 but which continued for some years after in Staffordshire. CHESTER’S antiques fair relaunches under new ownership on October 11-13, adding ‘Decorative’ to the title to attract a fresh generation of collectors looking for interior design ideas and stylish accessories.
Sue Ede, of Cooper Events – they run other fairs in Buxton, Harrogate, Bath and the Cotswolds – says classic antiques will remain, however, exhibited by around 50 dealers in the County Grandstand at Chester Racecourse.
Among them will be this charming Staffordshire figure of John Liston, left, (c.1776-1846) who started but failed as a serious Minerva, goddess of wisdom, circa 1800-10, probably by Ralph Wood, estimated at £300-£400 in Wooley & Wallis’ October 15 sale. It would once have graced the home of a newly wealthy mill owner This small flatback figure of an elephant is estimated at £100-£150 in Woolley & Wallis’ October 15 sale. It was probably modelled after being seen in a travelling menagerie
These earlier figures were made to be viewed from any angle, and although naively potted, they are as colourful as they are charming.
In contrast, since they were intended to stand against a wall, flatbacks were moulded and coloured only to the front.
They were made using plaster of Paris moulds to produce the front and back of the figure. A sheet of earthenware clay was pressed by hand into each half of the mould and as it dried, it shrank, allowing the model to be removed.
Thin rolls of clay forced along the inside reinforced the joint around the figure before a concave base was added from a third mould. Liquid clay, called slip, was then used to “glue” the parts together.
The outside seam around the figure was smoothed by scraping, a task known as “fettling”, and sponging, carried out by unskilled workers.
An alternative was slip casting, which produced figures from liquid clay poured into the plaster of Paris mould and allowed to dry and shrink. Fettling and sponging again smoothed out any imperfections.
First firing in coal-fired bottle kilns produced a brittle, absorbent biscuit body with a rough surface, after which the figures were dipped by hand into baths of glaze and fired again, while further firings were necessary to create the crude but colourful painted decoration.
At the height of their popularity more than 300 factories across Staffordshire produced the ornamental figures, some made as spill and watch holders. All sold for a few pennies apiece.
While the heart of the trade was in the Staffordshire Potteries, others were produced at Portobello in Edinburgh and in Yorkshire, Wales and Liverpool. Many were destined for America and the colonies, where they were bought as mementoes of people and events at home.
Towards the end of the century, manufacturers constantly seeking to lower costs caused the quality of much of their mass-produced output to decline severely.
Master moulds from which the plaster of Paris moulds were made were used over and again, reducing the definition of the finished articles, coloured glazes were cheaper and duller and the overall appeal of models deteriorated sharply.
Sadly, Staffordshire flatbacks have been faked and copied widely.
Mass-market copies made less than 30 years ago may already look old and can easily fool amateur dealers and collectors.
Ideally, new collectors are advised to compare early Victorian figures with later copies. The older figures are generally heavier, the colours stronger and the casting more refined.
If in doubt, buy only from reputable dealers and auctioneers who guarantee the authenticity of what they sell.