~ Staffordshire Watch Holder, Shepherd Girl & Flautist ~
A Victorian era piece of glazed earthenware, gaily decorated with two rosy-cheeked pastoral figures, flanking a large central arched aperture as part of a grapevine, a lamb and a King Charles spaniel.
The curved aperture at the top has a half-bowl behind it, where a pocket-watch could be placed, transforming the piece into a table-top clock-tower. The interior of the watch recess lined in a warm terracotta-orange
These watch holders were very popular status symbols, great for showing off the master of the house’s pocket-watch to guests.
To the left stands a shepherd girl with long dark hair, wearing a bonnet-style cap and a white dress with a prettily painted floral border at the hem; she cradles a lamb in her arms. To the right stands a young flautist or shepherd boy, broad-brimmed black hat on his head, white coat draped about him, holding an orange-red recorder or flute in playing position. Between the two figures at the base crouches a black and white spaniel dog, a typical Staffordshire accessory that adds liveliness and warmth to the composition.
The arched back is embellished with a luxuriantly painted wreath of fuchsia-pink and green flowers, with pierced holes along the scrolled and shaped top edge. The whole composition stands on a naturalistic white mound base. The reverse is flat and undecorated, with a single firing hole, characteristic of Staffordshire mantelpiece production. The underside is glazed white with an oval foot, unmarked, as is typical for anonymous Staffordshire production of this period.
Historical Context
It was a common habit in the Victorian era for a gentleman, upon retiring for the night, to remove his pocket watch and place it in a holder such as this, which would stand upon a table next to his bed — effectively converting the pocket watch into a bedside clock.
The Staffordshire factories made a variety of watch holders in bright colours and often elaborate designs — some in the form of castle gatehouses, others as figural groups with a recess for the watch. Watch stands were superseded in the 1920s by the increasing popularity of wristwatches.
The pastoral figural type — a shepherd, shepherdess and dog flanking a floral-decorated arch — was among the most popular and widely produced formats for these watch holders, and represents the mid-Victorian love of romantic rural imagery. The form draws on a long tradition of Continental porcelain bocage figures, translated into the vernacular Staffordshire idiom for a mass domestic market. The fuchsia flower decoration is a particularly charming
~ Dimensions ~
The piece stands exactly 2 inches tall (30.5 cm), is almost 8 inches wide (20 cm) and is 3 inches deep.
It weighs 1.5 Kg.
~ Condition ~
Other than some wear on the gold band at the base, and the glaze on the heel of the flautist (pictured), the piece is in perfect condition.
#6108
