Description:
One of a pair of English Staffordshire pearlware figurines of a cobbler and his wife in red, orange, black, green, pink, and yellow, both of which are set on mottled or marbled red and blue square bases. The old woman wears a white head scarf, yellow and black scarf around her neck, pink top, orange skirt patched in green, and white towel over her lap. As she looks away, she pours from a jug in her right hand to a mug in her left hand resting on her lap. This figurine was selected for the house that it is displayed in, because George Sheldon donated two similar figurines to PVMA described as: "Male and Female, quaint ornaments, yellow and blue. Nearly all of the above belonged to Persis (Hoyt) Sheldon, born Feb. 28, 1747; married, June 12, 1769, John Sheldon; died Nov. 2, 1829. Grandmother of the donor." Jobson is the poor cobbler and Nell is his wife. The characters were featured in the theatrical "The Devil to Pay or, The Wives Metamorphos'd," a ballad farce first performed in 1731. Revivals were popular on the English stage into the 19th century. A performance was staged at Covent Garden as late as 1828, and even children's books drew from the theme and illustrated Jobson and Nell (see file for pages from a children's book, "The Entertaining Story of Jobson and Nell," published in 1825.) Condition: minor nicks around the square base and a few flakes of glaze missing
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+P.347.019 |
