Not currently on display at the V&A

Little Red Riding Hood

Spill Vase
ca.1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Earthenware flatbacks and figurines for mantelpiece decoration were first produced in Staffordshire in the late 1830s. The earliest datable figures appear to be of Queen Victoria. Production of earthenware figures continued throughout Victoria's lifetime, but although they were still made after her death in 1901, few appear to have been produced after 1905. During their heyday, however, they were produced in vast numbers, usually modelled after prints. They represented a wide variety of subjects but those of actors and actresses were especially popular.

This spill vase figure represents Little Red Riding Hood, who appeared in a French collection of fairy tales published by Charles Perrault in 1697 and translated into English in 1729. Little Red Riding Hood is shown meeting the wolf in the woods. The wolf subsequently eats Red Riding Hood's grandmother, impersonates the grandmother in bed and consumes the unfortunate Red Riding Hood. This spill vase may have been produced because of the tale's popularity at the time, or because there was a burlesque dramatisation of the story at the Adelphi Theatre in about 1850. Spill vases held wax tapers, used in the 19th century for lighting fires and candles.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLittle Red Riding Hood (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Glazed earthenware
Brief description
Spill vase figure of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf. Earthenware, Staffordshire, ca. 1850
Physical description
The figurine depicts Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf. She is seated on a tree root with a basket on her arm and holds her hooded cloak closed. The wolf is to her left and is perched with its front legs raised. The figurine has only been painted on the front and has a narrow depth. The tree trunk is open at the top to serve as a spill vase.
Dimensions
  • Height: 25.5cm
  • Maximum width width: 15.0cm
  • Of base width: 13.5cm
  • Of base depth: 6.5cm
Credit line
Richard Vincent Hughes Bequest
Subject depicted
Literary referenceRed Riding Hood
Summary
Earthenware flatbacks and figurines for mantelpiece decoration were first produced in Staffordshire in the late 1830s. The earliest datable figures appear to be of Queen Victoria. Production of earthenware figures continued throughout Victoria's lifetime, but although they were still made after her death in 1901, few appear to have been produced after 1905. During their heyday, however, they were produced in vast numbers, usually modelled after prints. They represented a wide variety of subjects but those of actors and actresses were especially popular.

This spill vase figure represents Little Red Riding Hood, who appeared in a French collection of fairy tales published by Charles Perrault in 1697 and translated into English in 1729. Little Red Riding Hood is shown meeting the wolf in the woods. The wolf subsequently eats Red Riding Hood's grandmother, impersonates the grandmother in bed and consumes the unfortunate Red Riding Hood. This spill vase may have been produced because of the tale's popularity at the time, or because there was a burlesque dramatisation of the story at the Adelphi Theatre in about 1850. Spill vases held wax tapers, used in the 19th century for lighting fires and candles.
Bibliographic reference
Victorian Staffordshire Figures 1835 to 1975 Book One, by A. & N. Harding, p.318, fig.1164
Collection
Accession number
S.311-1981

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Record createdDecember 30, 2005
Record URL
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