Posted 3 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
I found one exactly like this one at the Victoria and Albert Museum. This is what they said about it:
Earthenware flatbacks and figurines for mantelpiece decoration were first produced in Staffordshire in the late 1830s. The earliest datable figures appear to be of Queen Victoria. Production of earthenware figures continued throughout Victoria's lifetime, but although they were still made after her death in 1901, few appear to have been produced after 1905. During their heyday, however, they were produced in vast numbers, usually modelled after prints. They represented a wide variety of subjects but those of actors and actresses were especially popular.
This spill vase figure represents Little Red Riding Hood, who appeared in a French collection of fairy tales published by Charles Perrault in 1697 and translated into English in 1729. Little Red Riding Hood is shown meeting the wolf in the woods. The wolf subsequently eats Red Riding Hood's grandmother, impersonates the grandmother in bed and consumes the unfortunate Red Riding Hood. This spill vase may have been produced because of the tale's popularity at the time, or because there was a burlesque dramatisation of the story at the Adelphi Theatre in about 1850. Spill vases held wax tapers, used in the 19th century for lighting fires and candles.
very interesting post, yes Caperucita Roja, in Spanish, is a very popular tale. This small spill vases were given as prizes in the fairs
I published in these posts
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/136248-a-fairing-conta-and-boheme-figurine
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/136250-a-fairing-conta-and-boheme-figurine-group
something similar about fairing figurines
thank you for the info kivatinitz. i was very surprised to learn that spill vases were originally made for those small tapers used to light candles / fires. I was also surprised when i saw one exactly like it in the V&A. This is no small piece. i should have mentioned the size - just under 11 inches tall.
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O120136/little-red-riding-hood-spill-vase-unknown/
Love it! I have a large Staffordshire figure and came close to buying this one recently!
Very nice!!!!
thanks vintagelamp and jscotto! my favorite staffordshire pieces are the dogs holding the flower baskets.
I love yours as well as Vintagelamp's large Staffordshire Red Riding Hood figure. Thanks for the info and history.
thank you Alfie!