This is an excellent nineteenth century molded figure of a reclining spaniel that is made out of stoneware - it is decorated in a two-tone Bristol glaze, a glazing technique that was developed in Bristol, England in 1835, and soon afterwards was used by American potters. In fact, it is sometimes called "double glazed ware" because the two-tone effect required dipping the object into the glaze twice. The manufacture of spaniels in ceramics also began in England, as early as the 1720s, but the production and variations of this figure eventually spread to pottery manufacturers in America, Canada and elsewhere in the world.
The details in this object are very good, whereas some molded wares lack certain characteristics when compared to handmade pottery. But this is an excellent example of molded stoneware, which I suspect was made in Ohio, circa 1850-1900. Although, Bristol glazes were also manufactured in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, in parts of the Midwest and perhaps elsewhere in America. But Ohio was probably the most prevalent location in America for the production of Bristol glazes based on the influx of potters that happened in the state in the 1800s.
Interestingly, the Bell family is among the most accomplished utilitarian potters to produce molded wares in the 1800s, based on the forms and glazes found in surviving objects, as well as a number of the actual molds that are displayed at the Renfrew Museum & Park in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. And there was a potter by the name of Joseph Bell who produced some reclining stoneware animals in Muskingum County, Ohio in the 1800s. However, I know very little about his reported production outside of a whippet that is attributed to him owned by the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, which was also published in the book American Folk Sculpture.
Nonetheless, this is a wonderful object that was previously owned for many years by David Good. It measures eight inches across.
An Excellent 19th Century Stoneware Figure of a Reclining Spaniel
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