George Tinworth The Cockneys at Brighton mice group, 6in (14cm) wide, £3600 at Chiswick Auctions.
‘Twas a few nights before and after Christmas that a mischief of mice was sold at auction. The much-loved stoneware creations of George Tinworth (1843-1913) were offered by Chiswick Auctions and Bonhams in London, and Burstow & Hewett in Battle, East Sussex.
George Tinworth The Raising of Lazarus Scripture Panel in velvet frame, 6 x 13in (15 x 33cm), £600 at Chiswick Auctions.
During his long career at Doulton Lambeth from 1867-1913, Tinworth was celebrated for his series of New Testament ‘Scripture Panels’ modelled in terracotta. John Ruskin was an admirer – so too the fellow critic and journalist John Forbes-Robertson who dubbed Tinworth “a sort of Rembrandt in clay and unquestionably the most original modeller that England has yet to produce”.
George Tinworth Four Seasons Seed Time, Summer, Harvest Winter 1876, 9 x 4in (22 x 10cm), £5200 at Chiswick Auctions.
However, today he is best known for the anthropomorphic models of mice and frogs made initially in his spare time for his personal amusement.
Forty different ‘Mice Musicians’ were shown at the International Inventions and Music Exhibition in South Kensington, London, in 1885, followed by many variations on the same theme in the 1880s and 1890s. Many betray the darker side of Victorian humour and touch on contemporary pastimes or new technologies.
None of these ‘humoresques’ were made in large multiples. Typically, although created in a mould, they were hand-finished by his workshop team and so no two pieces are quite the same. However, some models are harder to find than others.
Away from Bow
The Design & Contemporary sale at Chiswick Auctions on December 9 included material from the family of Pat and David Redstone who began collecting ceramics of many creeds in the 1950s. David was co-author with Elizabeth Adams of the 1981 monograph on Bow porcelain, but this offering focused on the more whimsical creations of Louis Wain and close to a dozen Tinworth groups.
George Tinworth Hunting Steeplechase frog group, 7in (16cm) wide, £4600 at Chiswick Auctions.
Several of the highlights are pictured here, including the Hunting or Steeplechase The Cockneys at Brighton (pictured top) mice group (£3600).
Rodent rider
George Tinworth Bicyclist mouse group, 5in (12cm) high, £7500 at Bonhams.
Offered at the Modern Decorative Art & Design sale at Bonhams on December 16 was the rare 5in (12cm) group Bicyclist c.1882 modelled as a mouse seated on a penny farthing with its tail coiled around the crossbar. The figure is more often seen with a frog rather than a rodent as the rider (this was the figure Doulton reissued in 2005 in an edition of 150 as part of its Prestige range).
However, a handful of mice on a bike are also known including the model sold by Bonhams Edinburgh in September 2024 for £8000. This second version in different green, blue and brown glazes made a little less, hammering at £7500.
Watch your apples
Another rarity is the mouse menu holder known as Apple Stall. First produced at Doulton in 1885, it shows an attendant snoozing by his stall as another quietly steals an apple.
The example offered by Burstow & Hewett on January 7 was in good condition and hammered for a punchy £7200 (estimate £300-500).
George Tinworth Electricity mouse menu holder, 4in (10cm) high, £2100 at Burstow & Hewett.
From the same source the menu holder Electricity, showing two mice demonstrating a new-fangled technology, sold at £2100. It was not in the best condition, the stem broken and partially missing.
