Will Watch
Figurine
ca. 1840 (made)
ca. 1840 (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 figurine represents Will Watch, a legendary smuggler who was believed to have come from the Sussex area of England and who featured as a hero in a number of melodramas, the best- known being Will Watch and his Black-Eyed Susan. Several different versions of Will Watch were produced by Staffordshire firms, his popularity due to his romantic swashbuckling appearance.
This figurine represents Will Watch, a legendary smuggler who was believed to have come from the Sussex area of England and who featured as a hero in a number of melodramas, the best- known being Will Watch and his Black-Eyed Susan. Several different versions of Will Watch were produced by Staffordshire firms, his popularity due to his romantic swashbuckling appearance.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Will Watch (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Glazed earthenware |
| Brief description | Flatback figurine of Will Watch, the smuggler who featured in Victorian melodrama including Will Watch and his Black Eyed Susan. Glazed earthenware, Staffordshire, ca.1840 |
| Physical description | Glazed earthenware figure of Will Watch standing, with legs apart, by a stack of grey barrels, on an integral base with gilt line decoration on which the words WILL WATCH feature in gold paint. He wears a large hat featuring magenta and blue plumes and an open-necked white shirt and jacket, a sash with a cross-hatched pattern in ochre, green and blue, pale lemon knee-length breeches with green and ochre floral detail, magenta stockings and black boots with red tops. In his right hand he holds a pistol and in his left a rifle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | WILL WATCH Note Letters raised in the mould and gilt |
| Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996 |
| Object history | Will Watch was a legendary smuggler and privateer who featured in a Dickens short story and on the stage in melodrama. |
| 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 figurine represents Will Watch, a legendary smuggler who was believed to have come from the Sussex area of England and who featured as a hero in a number of melodramas, the best- known being Will Watch and his Black-Eyed Susan. Several different versions of Will Watch were produced by Staffordshire firms, his popularity due to his romantic swashbuckling appearance. |
| Associated object | S.198-1998 (Object) |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.957-1996 |
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| Record created | February 20, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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