Keep in mind that Staffordshire dogs have been reproduced for many years. Be thorough and examine the entire figure. Such signs include bits of debris, firing lines and burst bubbles in the glaze and paint drips or runs extending from the sides down and around to the bottom.ĭon't make the mistake of using only one test to base your judgement of age. Old bases also generally show some signs of the fairly crude, low cost production methods and relatively unskilled labor that made them. Glaze on many new dogs, however, is intentionally "aged" or "stressed" on normally exposed areas but frequently left unaltered on the under side. Does the glaze on the bottom match the glaze on the rest of the piece? Glaze on old pieces is usually the same over the entire figure. Underside of the Base-In addition to holes left by slip casting, the underneath side of the base can provide other helpful information. Be suspicious of a pair of dogs that match perfectly in every respect.Ĥ. Reproductions, on the other hand, are frequently identical matches because each is a result of modern mass production and uniform quality control. Slight variations will exist in size, painting, mold detail and signs of normal wear developed over the years. Side by Side Comparison- Although many old dogs were originally sold and have survived in pairs, they are very seldom exactly the same.
Most old gold is relatively soft colored with a dull luster much of the new gold has a mirror-like highly reflective surface.ģ. Gold Trim-old gold nearly always shows some wear new gold usually shows none. Old dogs also generally show more detail in the overall molding especially in the tails, legs, ears and modelled hair.Ģ. Most old dogs show at least some painting on the back side many new pieces have no painting on the back. Other specific points and areas to inspect are: 1.Paint and Decoration-old pieces generally show at least some fine strokes of a paint brush modern pieces are often colored by swabs or sponges. Although some original figures were produced by slip casting, they are extremely few in number. The dime size or larger holes left in the base of slip cast pieces are an easily detected sign of a modern reproduction.
2 & 3 below extensive detailed information on both methods also appears in ACRN January, 1994). The main difference between old and new is that old figures (with virtually no exceptions) were made in press molds new figures are made in slip molds in the process called slip casting(see Figs. The main difference between old and new is that old figures (with virtually no exceptions) were made in press molds new figures are made in slip molds in the process called slip casting(Figs. Although there are always exceptions, this article offers some general guidelines to help separate 20th century copies from pre-1900 originals. In fact, present day copies look very similar to the fakes Lee described in the 1930s. Photographs in 1990s catalogs are virtually identical to pieces pictured in catalogs from the pre-WW II years, the 1950s and 1960s. The reproduction dogs have apparently changed very little over the years. In Antique Fakes and Reproductions, one of the first books devoted exclusively to fakes first published in 1938, author Ruth Webb Lee devoted six pages of photographs to new Staffordshire figures.Ĭopies of Staffordshire dogs are still popular items and stocked by almost all present day reproduction wholesalers.
No other Victorian-era collectible-with the possible exception of Currier and Ives prints-has been so heavily and steadily reproduced as these simple faced cottage canines. If all the dogs sold as English Staffordshire were really made of English clay, the island of England today would be about the size of a tea caddy.
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