Dudson Mower and Mate figure
This pair of figures belongs to Alan Sturrock. Thanks to a “my staffordshire figures” blog by Myrna Schkolne we are confident in attributing them to the Dudson factory. Dudson used several distinctive bocage forms that are very useful in identifying their figures, but these figures lack typical bocages. Instead, look at the x-shaped sprig on the Mate base. That x-sprig is specific to Dudson. When such a sprig is used it is akin to a Dudson signature. The Mower base also has x-sprigs on it but they are partial; they most likely broke as they were formed. Pictured below is an enlarged view of the x-sprig… it really is quite distinctive.
The Dudson pot bank has operated as a family business from its foundation to the present day. In 1800, Richard Dudson established his first works at Broad Street, Shelton, and by 1830 Dudson was a specialist figure manufactory, although contemporary trade directories fail to list it as such.
Dudson’s establishment coincides with the closure of Ralph Wood’s pot bank. Wood died in 1795, but his son, Ralph Wood III, operated the pot bank until his own premature death in 1801. We repeatedly see Dudson figures formed just like Ralph Wood figures. It is possible that Dudson simply copied the Ralph Wood figures, but it is more likely that Dudson acquired some of the Ralph Wood moulds.
More Figures of the month
Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny
This is a rare pair of early figures of Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny, characters in the Robert Burns play “Tam O’Shanter”, written in 1790.
A pair of giraffes
This is a fine pair of Staffordshire giraffes, seated below palm trees, each approximately 5 ½” tall. These figures are very rare, dating to approximately 1850.
Old Age
This is a fine pair of early Staffordshire figures portraying “Old Age”. They stand about 8 ¾” tall and date to about 1820.
A pair of pointers
This is a rare pair of Staffordshire foxhounds, pointers, or game dogs. Whatever one decides to call them, they are an unusual and very fine pair.
Reverand Edward Meyrick Goulburn
This is a rare Staffordshire figure of the Reverand Edward Goulburn, standing approximately 11 1/2” tall and dating to about 1860.
Richard Cobden
This is a rare Staffordshire figure of Richard Cobden, the English politician, economist, and leader of the effort to abolish the Corn Laws in 1846.
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