19th-Century Spaniel Figures

Appraised on: August 5, 2000

Appraised in: St. Louis, Missouri

Appraised by: Daniel Buck Soules

Category: Decorative Arts

Episode Info: Cats and Dogs (#1619)

Originally Aired: November 12, 2012

IMAGE: 1 of 3  

Appraisal Video: (1:48)

GUEST: I inherited these from a very dear friend who was an animal lover. He had inherited them from a very dear friend who was an animal lover. So now they sit at home on my sideboard, and I continue to be an animal lover. I know that originally they were brought to Missouri in the 1950s from either Vermont or Maine, and I'd always been told they were from the American Rockingham factory.

APPRAISER: These spaniels are mid-19th century, around 1850. They are probably British.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: The glaze on them is absolutely wonderful. It is a Rockingham-style glaze. The flint enamel work along there, also called treacle glaze. The holes in the bottom are for vents. They have to have some way to release the heat from the inside of the dog when it's in the kiln. This type of base is more typical of a Scottish base than an American base. The other thing I have to show you is that I've also found...

GUEST: Oh, I'll be darned.

APPRAISER: ...virtually the same spaniel figures as the ones we have now. I've only seen the English type, generally the white with the gold on them. I've never seen these. Here's a set of Staffordshire-style spaniels that are not white, that are a great, Rockingham-type glaze that's absolutely in wonderful, wonderful condition. One of the things that is unusual about them, the size is 16, 17 inches high, and typically the spaniels that you see are shorter. If these were to come up to auction today, you probably would have an estimate of $2,000 to $3,000.

GUEST: Ah.