Sold for an old shilling now they are probably worth a small fortune!
Most collectors of old pottery and porcelain are familiar with certain figures or figure groups having as a background a number of branches or even just a tree stump - known as *bocage - to support the taller figures.
Although stumps of trees and branches are now seen to be of a decorative nature they were probably used by the potter to support the standing or seated figures before the first firing. Nevertheless these earthenware pieces have an enduring charm that endears them to many avid collectors.
Examples in the picture show earthenware figures modelled in a crude fashion and have all the appearance of being fabricated at high speed. Cheapness being the main criteria, this primitive type of modelling is more like the work of a pastry-cook than a potter.
Because of their extremely brittle nature these ornaments invariably show signs of damage and the arms; legs and heads of the figures often show signs of repair. Missing beaks on birds or tails on animals can easily be missed too. And it’s always worth checking that pretty necklace on a figure. Could it be a repaint to cover a replaced head?
Made to decorate a mantle-shelf of a house proud farmers wife or in the home of an ambitious clerk, they were bought for a shilling or even less. Today, in the right auction room and in good condition they can still return a healthy profit on their original price.
When researching this type of earthenware, two names; John Walton and Obediah Sherratt should be a first port of call. Sherratt is remembered for his bull-baiting scenes but little is known of Walton except he worked in Burslem between 1790 and 1835. He appears to have been a man of original talent whose work was copied by other potters.
*Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages. It may refer to a small forest, a decorative element of leaves, a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, or a type of rubble-work, comparable with the English use of 'rustic' in relation to garden ornamentation
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