Mr Stag and Mrs Doe
After last week's story about Mr Daniel and Mr Yates, here comes the story of Mr Stag and Mrs Doe...
Mr Stag was sitting on a shelf in an auction house, together with his friend Staggie. They lived a quiet life during the day, and ran around the auction room at night, when nobody was looking. Then one day, they were put into a box and sent over to Hackney Wick in London, where I introduced them to all my other figures. They had never been in the city - they are country boys! But luckily there was a kind shepherdess with a lamb that they befriended.
Staggie had a magnificent set of antlers, but Mr Stag looked bedraggled and his antlers came off when I touched them; they were a badly made replacement. I felt very sorry for him. So off they went in a box again - these are well-travelled stags! They went to a little place in the countryside, where my kind restorer created a wonderful new set of antlers for Mr Stag.
In the meantime, I discovered the lonely Mrs Doe in another auction house, and I invited her over to travel to Hackney Wick as well. When Mr Stag and Staggie returned, there she was waiting for them. The three greeted each other with excitement. Soon, it was clear that Mr Stag and Mrs Doe liked each other very much, and Staggie will have to wait a little longer to find a partner. That didn't stop both Mr Stag and Staggie to look a little sad about the heartbreak - look at Mr Stag's startled face.
But, as my restorer wrote to me:
"Oh deer! Hind you, there's someone out there for everyone... (hooves crossed) 🦌"
And believe me, that made Staggie smile.
Now enough silliness... I have this wonderful Derby pair of a stag and doe from about 1820. They were probably cast in about 1760, but stored and forgotten. Around 1820, Robert Bloor pulled out lots of old stock that had never been sold, and decorated it - these must be from that stock.
Aren't they wonderful? Have a good look at their faces - Mrs Doe is so peaceful and kind, and Mr Stag always looks slightly startled, his mouth open as if he is shouting out in surprise. It doesn't happen very often that these come to the market so I was amazed to find them in such quick succession. And yes, Staggie is available too, but as he is still a little peeved, I haven't been able to convince him to come to the shop yet... I'm hoping to find him a partner one day, and in the meantime the shepherdess and her lamb will keep him company.
Where to find things
You can you can find all porcelain figures here, and you can find all my available items here. If you want to stay up to date with new additions, find me on Instagram, where I put up pictures with a story several times a week.
Happy weekend, and go see if you can spot a deer! 🦌🦌🦌
This week's new treasures:
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