Fergus Gambon
Director
Lot 40*
A fine 'Lord Rodney' Toby Jug and cover from the 'Midshipman Family', circa 1785
15 December 2020, 14:30 GMT
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £81,500 inc. premium
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Anna Burnside
Head of Sale
A fine 'Lord Rodney' Toby Jug and cover from the 'Midshipman Family', circa 1785
Attributed to Jacob Marsh, seated and holding a pale blue jug in his right hand, a rifle in his left hand and an amusing small dog seated between his feet, a delicate pipe on the base to his right, the cover applied with flowers and feathers picked out in ochre and blue, a similar flower on the thumbrest, his frockcoat and necktie picked out in ochre, his neatly buttoned waistcoat in blue, 29cm high (2)
Footnotes
Provenance
James and Timmey Challenger Collection, Chicago
Two marked 'Lord Rodney' jugs from the 'Midshipman Family' are recorded. One from the Mackintosh Collection was sold by Sotheby's on 2 May 1967, lot 55 and was catalogued as incised on the base 'J.MARSH JOLLEY'. Most likely this was an incorrect transcription of the place name 'Folley', for another example was sold by Phillips on 29 November 1989, lot 305 and this was inscribed 'J Marsh, Folley'. Jacob Marsh is recorded as a potter in Burslem in 1803, moving to the Lane Delph Pottery in 1806. He is listed in 'The History and Gazeteer and Directory of Staffordshire' in 1834 as 'Jacob Marsh of Golden Hill House, (Foley) gent', see John and Griselda Lewis, Pratt Ware (1984), p.44-45. Foley lies between Longton and Fenton and it is likely that his connections there were longstanding, providing the probable maker for this rare group of jugs.
A total of twelve 'Lord Rodney' jugs belonging to the 'Midshipman' group are listed by Vic Schuler, Collecting British Toby Jugs (3rd Edn, 1999), p.55. Like the small jugs from this group, they exhibit a range of attributes. Another example, without a hat, was sold by Bonhams on 14 November 2018, lot 286. Despite their naivety, these larger 'Lord Rodney' jugs exhibit much subtlety in the modelling of the face.
