A charming and very nicely modelled pair of figures depicting Tam o’ Shanter and Souter Johnnie drinking together, as told in the Robert Burns poem Tam o’ Shanter.
Tam wears a green jacket with gilt lapels, a white waistcoat with gilt buttons, a white shirt, white breeches, pink stockings, gilded shoes, and a blue cap. He holds a cup in his right hand. Johnnie wears a green jacket with gilt lapels, a white waistcoat and shirt, and a yellow apron, pink breeches, white socks, gilt shoes, and a magenta hat. He holds a gilt-decorated jug in his right hand. Both characters sit on stools with ornately modelled, tasselled cushions in white. Their square white bases are trimmed with a gilt band.
This really lovely pair come in very good original condition. There is some puckering to the overglaze green enamel of Tam’s jacket, an underglaze chip to one cushion corner (from the time of manufacture), some limited loss of gilt, and some very small nibbles to the bottom rim of the square base. Johnnie is in near perfect condition with only a very discreet underglaze nibble to the base. In essence, therefore, these figures are excellent and among the better examples of this popular pair. I cannot detect any restoration, but give my customary disclaimer that I cannot altogether rule out to the remote possibility of highly professional, invisible restoration.
Reference: Possibly unrecorded, but very similar examples can be found in A. & N. Harding, Victorian Staffordshire Figures 1835 - 1875: Second Addendum, p. 75, figs. 978D and 978E
Height: 4.5”
Date: c. 1830s / early 1840s
A charming and very nicely modelled pair of figures depicting Tam o’ Shanter and Souter Johnnie drinking together, as told in the Robert Burns poem Tam o’ Shanter.
Tam wears a green jacket with gilt lapels, a white waistcoat with gilt buttons, a white shirt, white breeches, pink stockings, gilded shoes, and a blue cap. He holds a cup in his right hand. Johnnie wears a green jacket with gilt lapels, a white waistcoat and shirt, and a yellow apron, pink breeches, white socks, gilt shoes, and a magenta hat. He holds a gilt-decorated jug in his right hand. Both characters sit on stools with ornately modelled, tasselled cushions in white. Their square white bases are trimmed with a gilt band.
This really lovely pair come in very good original condition. There is some puckering to the overglaze green enamel of Tam’s jacket, an underglaze chip to one cushion corner (from the time of manufacture), some limited loss of gilt, and some very small nibbles to the bottom rim of the square base. Johnnie is in near perfect condition with only a very discreet underglaze nibble to the base. In essence, therefore, these figures are excellent and among the better examples of this popular pair. I cannot detect any restoration, but give my customary disclaimer that I cannot altogether rule out to the remote possibility of highly professional, invisible restoration.
Reference: Possibly unrecorded, but very similar examples can be found in A. & N. Harding, Victorian Staffordshire Figures 1835 - 1875: Second Addendum, p. 75, figs. 978D and 978E
Height: 4.5”
Date: c. 1830s / early 1840s
Image 1 of 26
Image 2 of 26
Image 3 of 26
Image 4 of 26
Image 5 of 26
Image 6 of 26
Image 7 of 26
Image 8 of 26
Image 9 of 26
Image 10 of 26
Image 11 of 26
Image 12 of 26
Image 13 of 26
Image 14 of 26
Image 15 of 26
Image 16 of 26
Image 17 of 26
Image 18 of 26
Image 19 of 26
Image 20 of 26
Image 21 of 26
Image 22 of 26
Image 23 of 26
Image 24 of 26
Image 25 of 26
Image 26 of 26