A very fine and impressive titled figure attributed to the Alpha Factory depicting the English author, poet, and Chartist Eliza Cook.
Cook wears a cobalt bodice with an open neck, a pink jacket with large lapels, a long plaid skirt, and a hairband. She holds a black book in her right hand, and holds her skirt with her left. She stands on a round base. The title of the figure - ‘ELIZA COOK’ - is written on the base in impressed gilt serif capitals, flanked with gilt motifs.
Cook was noted for her support of political freedom for women and her belief in self-improvement through education, which she called 'Levelling Up'. She was associated with political radicalism, occasionally writing poetry and letters in Weekly Dispatch and other radical magazines. She supported the repeal of the Corn Laws. She was an outspoken opponent of child labour (what was heavily exploited in the Staffordshire potteries) and is counted among numerous radicals, reformists, and religious leaders who opposed child labour and received flattering depictions in figure form.
She was also known at the time for her 'boyish' hairstyle and 'manly' features (which the potters have not taken pains to capture) and for wearing jackets with large lapels which exposed her shirt and ruffles which was considered a masculine style (which the potters have captured more successfully).
The figure is in very good condition with no loss. There is some flaking to the overglaze black of the book (which is patchy) and a small rub to the tip of the nose. Most notably, there is are accumulations of kiln debris in the glaze in several places, particularly the face and base.
Reference: P. D. Gordon Pugh, Staffordshire Portrait Figures, p. H577, pl. 10, p. 36
Height: 10”
Date: c. 1849
Provenance: The Kirkland Tellwright Collection
A very fine and impressive titled figure attributed to the Alpha Factory depicting the English author, poet, and Chartist Eliza Cook.
Cook wears a cobalt bodice with an open neck, a pink jacket with large lapels, a long plaid skirt, and a hairband. She holds a black book in her right hand, and holds her skirt with her left. She stands on a round base. The title of the figure - ‘ELIZA COOK’ - is written on the base in impressed gilt serif capitals, flanked with gilt motifs.
Cook was noted for her support of political freedom for women and her belief in self-improvement through education, which she called 'Levelling Up'. She was associated with political radicalism, occasionally writing poetry and letters in Weekly Dispatch and other radical magazines. She supported the repeal of the Corn Laws. She was an outspoken opponent of child labour (what was heavily exploited in the Staffordshire potteries) and is counted among numerous radicals, reformists, and religious leaders who opposed child labour and received flattering depictions in figure form.
She was also known at the time for her 'boyish' hairstyle and 'manly' features (which the potters have not taken pains to capture) and for wearing jackets with large lapels which exposed her shirt and ruffles which was considered a masculine style (which the potters have captured more successfully).
The figure is in very good condition with no loss. There is some flaking to the overglaze black of the book (which is patchy) and a small rub to the tip of the nose. Most notably, there is are accumulations of kiln debris in the glaze in several places, particularly the face and base.
Reference: P. D. Gordon Pugh, Staffordshire Portrait Figures, p. H577, pl. 10, p. 36
Height: 10”
Date: c. 1849
Provenance: The Kirkland Tellwright Collection
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