Most watched on thesaleroom.com: a bawdy Georgian figure
15 January 2020 Among the most watched items for sale this week on thesaleroom.com is this early 19th century pottery figure of a squatting man. It epitomises the sometimes bawdy nature of Georgian humour.
This Staffordshire earthenware novelty figure of Roger Giles laying eggs is offered at Bamfords on January 16-17 with an estimate of £30-50.
The subject is Roger Giles and, contrary to first impressions, the figure in period attire is miraculously laying eggs.
At the time the story was well known. Giles was a Devonshire jack-of-all-trades with a limited grasp of English grammar who in the 1830s had advertised the sale of fresh eggs with a sign reading ‘newly laid eggs, by me every day’. His unfortunate mistake was reported with jest in the local press and his notoriety spread.
Several versions of the Roger Giles figure were produced by potters well into the 19th century but this one, picked out in the blue, black and yellow colours made famous by the Pratt factory in Yorkshire, is probably one of the earliest. It was probably a sander for use as a desk accessory. The estimate is £30-50 when the lot sells as part of the sale titled Gentleman’s Library and Grand Tour Auction of Curiosities at Bamfords in Derby on January 16-17.
View and bid for this Pratt earthenware novelty figure of Roger Giles laying eggs.
