Antique pair STAFFORDSHIRE cottage mantle SPANIEL DOGS 19th Century 185 cm tall

Description

Traditional
pair of Staffordshire spaniel dogs
Here is a matched pair of Staffordshire spaniel dogs produced for the rapidly growing English middle class in the 19th Century.
They would have been placed in the window of a cottage or on the mantle as a sign of comfort and well-being, particularly after the ascension of Queen Victoria in 1837.
The two dogs are cream-colored with a pinky-brown and black nose and occasional touches of gold accent. They stand about 8 inches tall.
They have been well preserved over the years, with only a small chip to the base of one. Each has a single airhole left from the original firing towards the rear base.  As antique figurines,
these dogs do have the expected heavy crazing if you examine them in bright light.
It has been suggested that some enterprising couples used the dogs to help plan romantic get-togethers in the era before modern technology.
One story tells of a woman who would place the ornaments in her front window.  If the spaniels were turned back to back, it meant her husband was at home. If he was away or at sea, the dogs would be placed facing each other. When her lover passed the house, he would then know by the way the dogs were facing if it was safe for him to visit her without her husband knowing.
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