Victorian Staffordshire Spaniel Pair, Russet Copper Luster, Wally Dogs, c.1850–1880

A matched pair of Victorian Staffordshire press-molded earthenware spaniels, the quintessential English mantel ornament of the second half of the nineteenth century. White ground with russet iron-red copper-luster spotting on head, ears, and flanks; gilded collars with pendant lockets; hand-painted facial features showing the slight between-piece variation of period bench decoration. From roughly 1840 through century's end, Staffordshire potteries — and Scottish counterparts where they were called Wally dugs — produced these in vast numbers as the standard Victorian parlor ornament. Russet is the most desirable color after the rarer black and tortoiseshell. Small scale at 5½ in H places these at the refined end of the production range. Both pieces sound; expected paint loss to russet patches; small flake to one ear; no cracks, no restoration. Sold as a matched pair only. 5½ in H × 4 in W × 3 in D each.