Figurine

Title:

Spring

Object Name:

Figurine

Object ID:

1980.047.13

Place of Origin:

Sunderland, England

Date:

1820-1826

Description:

Figurine, "SPRING". Pearlware, earthenware. Completely hollow figurine of a woman on a mound of greenery on a square pedestal base. She holds a bouquet of flowers in her left hand and her right hand is wrapped around a large cornucopia. She has long, brown hair. She wears a white toga with purple and green floral design and black sandals. Cornucopia is filled with purple and yellow flowers and green leaves. Painted on front of base is "SPRING". Base is spatter decorated in red, black and green. Painted on bottom in red "F31 / CK". Large vent hole in bottom.
Similar to Sunderland figures depicting each of the "Four Seasons"; for a picture of an almost exact representation of this piece, see G. Bernard Hughes' "English and Scottish Earthenware", pl. 32. According to Hughes, p. 178, this type of decoration was used to adorn fireplace mantles. In the late 1830's began a long vogue for flat-backed figures, p. 189. Hughes also states that the Sunderland mark, "Dixon, Austin & Co.", was used between 1820 and 1826 (see pl. 32). According to Ivor Noel-Hume, pearlware was first put on the market by Wedgwood in 1779. See his article, "Pearlware: Forgotten Milestone of English Ceramic History", The Magazine Antiques (March 1969), pp. 390-397. According to Hume, elaborate floral decoration of pearlware in polychrome was apparently popular c. 1800-1820, with yellow, green, and orange predominating, p. 395.
The Sunderland figure set of the seasons with impressed "Dixon, Austin & Co." can be seen in W. D. John & Warren Baker's "Old English Lustre Pottery", colored illustration #81. "Spring" also in Godden's "British Pottery and Porcelain", fig. 555.

Material:

Ceramic
Earthenware - Pearl ware

Dimensions:

H-8.5 W-3.625 D-3.625 inches

Provenance:

Part of a large collection of 18th- & 19th-century ceramics, given by their collector, Alma (Mrs. Harold G.) Duckworth (1899-2003).

Credit Line:

Gift of Alma Duckworth

People:

Duckworth, Alma (1899-2003)