A rare pair of Staffordshire figures portraying a father, mother, infant child and small baby, possibly based on a Currier & Ives series of prints published in the US in 1870, offered for £875 by RTS Antiques.
Those engaging in the ‘Dry January’ challenge this year may draw inspiration from two offerings of Staffordshire figures on the site of RTS Antiques.
Though Dry January - where participants swear off alcohol for a month - has only run officially since 2013, the temperance movement that inspired the figures seen here dates back to the 19th century. For the first time, social reformers began to urge not just moderation in drinking but total abstinence. Alcohol consumption was viewed as leading to immorality, poverty, child neglect and economic decline.
Temperance was often urged in works of art and often springs up in Staffordshire figures.
For example, offered for £875 is a rare pair of figures portraying a father, mother, infant child and small baby, possibly based on a Currier & Ives series of prints published in the US in 1870.
Not only are the well-dressed parents shown looking after the children, the father symbolically holds out of the child’s reach a bunch of grapes.
Also on offer is Gin and Water (above) a double-sided figure made by the Thomas Parr factory, c.1850. It shows two versions of the same man. One is drunk, in torn, shabby clothes. The other shows a well-dressed man holding a full bag of money.
Offered for £195, it is a well-decorated example of a common figure.
