Sculpture

Earthenware flatbacks and figurines for mantelpiece decoration were first produced in Staffordshire in the late 1830s. The earliest datable Staffordshire figures appear to be those of Queen Victoria, who was crowned in 1837. Images of royalty proved lucrative and during the 1840s Staffordshire pottery firms issued countless other royal figures. Although some appeared after Victoria's death in 1901, few were made after 1905. During their heyday however they were produced in vast numbers, usually modelled after prints. As well as the royal family they represented a wide variety of subjects, those of actors and actresses being especially popular.