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 manufactured in vast numbers, usually modelled after prints. They represented a wide variety of subjects but those of actors and actresses were especially popular.

This figurine is of Mother Goose, the subject of the fairy tale which appeared in a French collection published by Charles Perrault and translated into English in 1729. It may have been made because of the popularity of the fairy tale, or may have been inspired by a theatrical production. In the 19th century the clown Grimaldi made his name in the Covent Garden production of Dibdin's pantomime Mother Goose, or, the Golden Egg.