Dear Pair of Miniature Red Patch Staffordshire Spaniels

THE STORY - There is something about this dear pair of Victorian Miniature Staffordshire Spaniels or 'Wally Dugs' that makes me smile every time I look at them. I think it is the naivety of their form and their painted faces and I have to say the almost 'slap dash way the russet red paint patches has been applied to their face, it does go through my mind whether the painter might have been feeling a little jaded the morning this pair came in from of them for decorating. But my goodness this pair maybe little but they are absolutely huge with character I think because of their naivety and their imperfections. As I have said they are miniature in size measuring just 7.5cm in height and they sit just as one would expect of the larger versions. They are painted with deep rust red patches and each of them sports a little collar around their necks. And there is one part of the painting of the dogs which I didn't originally appreciate when I spotted them and that is on their heads they each have a strong line painted but one is painted vertically and the other horizontally, a little point but one that I love and the other little detail I love is that the body of the dog with the horizontally line appears to be just that little bit fuller than his partner.

AGE - Circa 1880

CONDITION - The dogs are in good condition considering their age. The base of the smaller dog with the vertical stripe does not sit completely flat at the front, instead sitting up a tiny bit, if this is a fault it would have been made at the time of production as it is fully glazed and not a chip, this can best be seen in the first photo, there is also a tiny chip to the red paint on his tail best seen in the seventh photo and his collar is a little rubbed and not as defined as his partner. The Dog with the Horizontal Line on its head does have down the side of one ear what looks like a line where the seam of the moulds has not been completely smoothed over, this can best be seen in the final photo.

DIMENSIONS (Approx for the slightly larger Dog) - Height 3" / 7.5cm, Width 2" / 5cm, Depth 1&5/8" / 4cm

They really are the dearest little pair and I certainly thank that painter, because however they were feeling when this pair came in front of them to be decorated they certainly managed pack an awful lot of wonderful personality into them. Just Charming