A superb, very well matched and important pair of Staffordshire propagandist figures, quite probably made by Thomas Parr, titled Popery and Protestantism. The two figures stand in mirrored yet contrasting poses.
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Popery
Popery depicts a Catholic priest and austere black robes. In his right hand, he holds a closed Bible which is locked with a chain which spills down to the ground. With his left hand he leans on a scroll which appears as a flag on the back.
On the scroll it is written: ‘Either we must root out the Bible or the Bible will root us out. The translators of the English Bible are to be abhorred to the depths of Hell. It would be better to be without God’s law than without the Pope’s’ - Dr Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, 1816.
On the reverse, viewed as a flag, it is written: He that committeth his conscience to the keeping of another is no longer a free man. Freedom of conscience & freedom of thought are essential to the freedom of a nation. Therefore a nation of Catholics is a nation of Slaves.
Protestantism
Protestantism, in contrast to Popery, is depicted as a young woman in a flowing white garment. She holds an open bible in her left hand, facing the viewer, and there is an inaccurately drawn Union Flag shield at her feet. She too rests her other hand on a scroll which appears as a flag on the back.
On the scroll are written a series of Scriptural verses: ‘Search the Scriptures.’ John 5.39. ‘Prove all things.’ Thes 5.27. ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.’ Col 3.16. ‘To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ Isa. 8.20.
And on the flag on the reverse is written: The Bible the open Bible is the religion of Protestants. It is like everything else from God free as the air we breathe. It spurns alike indulgences & Penance.
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The years 1850 and 1851 saw the nation gripped by anti-Catholic fervour, a cause uniting Primitivist and Wesleyan Methodists alike. By 1852, the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London opened and swept much of that fervour away as the mood of the nation suddenly changed [S. Duckworth]. For this reason, Stephen Duckworth dates these figures to either 1850 or 1851, as there was a quick succession of very well made anti-Catholic propaganda pieces produced for the middle-class market at this time. The style of these two figures is practically indistinguishable from those figures confidently attributed to Thomas Parr, but Parr (according to P. D. Gordon Pugh) did not start potting independently until 1852. Parr has been working for his father, Richard, until that time and, therefore, Duckworth suggests that Parr first proved his worth as a potter by potting these figures while working at his father’s factory before becoming master potter a year or two later. It is a compelling theory and is perhaps the only way to explain how such vividly ‘Parr-like’ figures were made before ‘the Thomas Parr Factory’ was properly established with Parr as master.
Whatever their origin, these are exceptional figures and of great historical significance, demonstrating as they do the nimbleness with which potters could seize on current social phenomena to preserve significant moments in history in clay.
Both figures are in good condition. If there has been any restoration, it has been done very professionally, and there is no loss or current damage. The script is well written and mostly legible. There is a little fading to some of the letters of the figures’ titles and some of the base gilt. Please study the images closely for a sense of the real quality of design, manufacture and decoration demonstrated in these superb and fascinating figures.
Reference: Stephen Duckworth, Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Religious Figures, p. 124, figs. C.1 and C.2
Height: 9.25” (Popery - the taller)
Date: c. 1850 - 1851
Provenance: The Stephen Duckworth Collection
To request more information or to arrange overseas shipping, please contact us on sales@rowancottageantiques.com
A superb, very well matched and important pair of Staffordshire propagandist figures, quite probably made by Thomas Parr, titled Popery and Protestantism. The two figures stand in mirrored yet contrasting poses.
~
Popery
Popery depicts a Catholic priest and austere black robes. In his right hand, he holds a closed Bible which is locked with a chain which spills down to the ground. With his left hand he leans on a scroll which appears as a flag on the back.
On the scroll it is written: ‘Either we must root out the Bible or the Bible will root us out. The translators of the English Bible are to be abhorred to the depths of Hell. It would be better to be without God’s law than without the Pope’s’ - Dr Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, 1816.
On the reverse, viewed as a flag, it is written: He that committeth his conscience to the keeping of another is no longer a free man. Freedom of conscience & freedom of thought are essential to the freedom of a nation. Therefore a nation of Catholics is a nation of Slaves.
Protestantism
Protestantism, in contrast to Popery, is depicted as a young woman in a flowing white garment. She holds an open bible in her left hand, facing the viewer, and there is an inaccurately drawn Union Flag shield at her feet. She too rests her other hand on a scroll which appears as a flag on the back.
On the scroll are written a series of Scriptural verses: ‘Search the Scriptures.’ John 5.39. ‘Prove all things.’ Thes 5.27. ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.’ Col 3.16. ‘To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ Isa. 8.20.
And on the flag on the reverse is written: The Bible the open Bible is the religion of Protestants. It is like everything else from God free as the air we breathe. It spurns alike indulgences & Penance.
~
The years 1850 and 1851 saw the nation gripped by anti-Catholic fervour, a cause uniting Primitivist and Wesleyan Methodists alike. By 1852, the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London opened and swept much of that fervour away as the mood of the nation suddenly changed [S. Duckworth]. For this reason, Stephen Duckworth dates these figures to either 1850 or 1851, as there was a quick succession of very well made anti-Catholic propaganda pieces produced for the middle-class market at this time. The style of these two figures is practically indistinguishable from those figures confidently attributed to Thomas Parr, but Parr (according to P. D. Gordon Pugh) did not start potting independently until 1852. Parr has been working for his father, Richard, until that time and, therefore, Duckworth suggests that Parr first proved his worth as a potter by potting these figures while working at his father’s factory before becoming master potter a year or two later. It is a compelling theory and is perhaps the only way to explain how such vividly ‘Parr-like’ figures were made before ‘the Thomas Parr Factory’ was properly established with Parr as master.
Whatever their origin, these are exceptional figures and of great historical significance, demonstrating as they do the nimbleness with which potters could seize on current social phenomena to preserve significant moments in history in clay.
Both figures are in good condition. If there has been any restoration, it has been done very professionally, and there is no loss or current damage. The script is well written and mostly legible. There is a little fading to some of the letters of the figures’ titles and some of the base gilt. Please study the images closely for a sense of the real quality of design, manufacture and decoration demonstrated in these superb and fascinating figures.
Reference: Stephen Duckworth, Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Religious Figures, p. 124, figs. C.1 and C.2
Height: 9.25” (Popery - the taller)
Date: c. 1850 - 1851
Provenance: The Stephen Duckworth Collection
To request more information or to arrange overseas shipping, please contact us on sales@rowancottageantiques.com
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