A Pair of Staffordshire Figures Lions with Lambs circa 1848
The lion tamer, Isaac Van Amburg from Kentucky in America,
visited England in 1838, 1843 & 1848 and was a superstar.
He performed with lions, tigers and leopards in Astley's Amphitheatre in London,
Drury Lane and in the provinces throughout England.
Always portrayed in gladiator's dress, his performances attracted
the likes of The Duke of Wellington and Queen Victoria herself
The highlight of Van Amburgh's circus performance
was to make a Lion lie down with a lamb
and this was the inspiration of these marvellous figures.
They are a true pair and have been together since they were made.
On the underside of each base is a cross which was marked into the clay,
a small hole was cut into the middle of the back of each figure
to allow air to escape.
Our beautiful pair were now ready for the first firing
at about 1100 degrees centigrade.
This pair were then dipped into a liquid lead glaze and fired
at about 900 degrees centigrade in the glost oven.
Our pair of lions were glazed perfectly, the result is an excellent
coat of glass. The lead glaze is generous and soft and tinged strongly
with blue, particularly noticeable where the glaze formed a thicker layer
in the details of the moulding.
Our figures were finely decorated in a range of enamel colours
and with a gilded line across the front of each base.
Our talented artist added his own little mark of two red dots
onto the underside of each base and then our pair
had their third and final firing at around 800 degrees centigrade.
Again this process went perfectly, no paint was applied too thickly
as there is no flaking of the enamels and all the colours have
a superb finish.
Wow - what a result - 10 out of 10
Yes 160 years later,
just look at the modelling,
just look at the painting,
fantastic!
They have been loved, admired and looked after.
They are a wonderful pair in immaculate condition,
with no damage, no faults and have no restoration.
Height: 10.25 inches
