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It was in my blog dated 6th September 2012 that I mentioned ceramic
portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte, and it seems two years later and just in time
for Halloween that the Bogey Man has returned. I am still fascinated as to why the
British would chose to make commemorative ceramic pieces celebrating arch enemies.
Sure there are exceptions. Bovey Tracey produced a World War II series entitled
‘Our Gang’, which included soldiers, sailors, wardens and allied leaders,
so it seems ‘sort of’ obvious that they would include figures of Hitler
and Mussolini as well. The latter are subsequently pretty rare things, I guess either
because they were poor sellers or poorly cared for impulse purchases.
A Staffordshire pearl glazed bust of Napoleon circa 1815 (FS24/439).
There is of course always a space for a cheap joke and these tend to be at the ‘toy’
end of the market such as the novelty chamber pot cum ashtray, marked Fieldings (presumably
for S Fielding & Co. of Stoke) illustrated above which has an portrait
of Hitler on the interior which invites you to ‘Flip your ashes on old nasty’
and infers that you could make a far worse deposit on him.
An unflattering Feilding & Co novelty.
However, back to Napoleon - the joke need not always be a cheap one. The Cambrian
pottery of Dillwyn & Co of Swansea, produced circa 1815, a very desirable
jug decorated with a hilarious cartoon after James Brindley entitled ‘Bonapart
Dethron’d’ in which our nemesis is taunted by locals and the devil beneath
the speech bubble ‘Oh cursed ambition, what hast thou bought Me to Now’?
A Dillwyn (Swansea) jug of Napoleon Dethroned.
I can understand why the British would wish to portray a defeated foe in a negative
light, but for the life of me I cannot comprehend why a potter would wish to produce
a flatteringly modelled portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte seemingly months, at most after
his defeat by Wellington, and who at that turbulent time, would want to give one pride
of place in their library? However, enough water has flowed under the bridge for it
to be seen as a sensitively painted bust in which he seems reflective and melancholy,
even regretful perhaps.
A diminuative gilt metal model of Napoleon's coffin.
Although not a piece of ceramic I can help including a small gilt metal novelty (presumably
made for attachment to a fob seal or similar) that was consigned for sale recently,
that rather shows Napoleon Bonaparte as a Bogey Man. A tiny thing scarcely bigger
than a £1 coin it is a sarcophagus shaped coffin, the lid bearing a large ‘N’
within a wreath, presumably produced after his death in 1821. It has a button at one
end which ejects a spring loaded and fully resurrected Napoleon.
The Bogey Man back from the dead.
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Wed, 22 Oct 2014 19:12:12 GMT.
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 | Nic Saintey
Nic Saintey has been a director of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood since 2003 and heads up the Ceramics and Glass Department. He is part of the team specialising in Chinese ceramics and works of art. Nic's first career was in the Armed Forces where he served both as a military parachutist and paramedic. He joined a firm of Somerset auctioneers in early 1995 and Bearnes during a period of expansion in June 2000. His effervescent nature, sense of humour, broad knowledge and experience has seen him appear as an expert for BBC television programmes. He undertakes regular talks to both academic and general interest groups talking on subjects as diverse as Staffordshire pottery and pop culture, Chinese porcelain and the troubled relationship between Britain and the Orient, the English drinking glass and the Donyatt potters. He is an occasional contributor of articles for national and local publications and is equally fascinated by the stories attached to pots as he is about the objects themselves. His personal interests include Oriental and domestic pottery, but especially that produced in the West Country. Accompanied by his Lurcher Stickey, he is a keen Moorland walker (but only in the winter), an increasingly slow runner and a chaotic cook who always eats his own mistakes and, yes of course, he collects pottery!
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