At the heart of every home…
During the Victorian era no home was without a fireplace and no
mantelpiece was complete without ceramic ornaments. Staffordshire
figures were amongst the most popular and were accessible to the
humbler household. Known as flatbacks, because the backs are
unmodelled and undecorated, they depict characters from history,
current politicians, public figures and royalty. The
Staffordshire potteries, comprising of six towns, were the main
producers of these ceramics. The figures shown here are part
of a larger collection available for loan at National Museums
Scotland.
Click on the images below to see a larger version and find out
more about each object.
Find out how to
request a loan and see other collections available here.