The lapdog served as the inspiration for enormous numbers of earthenware figures produced in the Staffordshire potteries during much of the nineteenth century. Unlike their naturalistically colored English cousins, American spaniels were traditionally glazed in allover brown tones. They were made in pairs of various sizes, with and without bases, and served multiple purposes, including that of bookends and doorstops. Unlike the doorstop from the Midwest that is molded simply (see B.70.34), the dogs produced by Bell were often embellished with hand tooling, as seen around the eyes of the present example.

Marks: S. BELL & SON / STRASBURG (impressed on underside; Lehner 1988, p. 42, no. 8); S B & SON (incised on underside).

Description: Strongly resembles an English Staffordshire dog. The ears and tail are decorated in a honeycomb motif. Has chain-type collar around neck with a leash extending down the right side. Hanging from his collar is impressed pear-shaped design. Brownish-green and orange glazes.

Related Examples: Wiltshire 1975, pp. 30-31, pl. 5; Rice and Stoudt 1929, p. 242, no. 1586; Comstock 1994. p. 251.

Book excerpt: Warren, David B., Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.