Enoch Wood Centerpiece

This is a rare Staffordshire centerpiece by Enoch Wood & Sons circa 1825. This unusual and unique sweetmeat stand, with decoration that would find itself more at home on a piece of pearlware, is actually porcelain. The maker has yet to be identified, but it is quite likely to be Enoch Wood, who is known to have experimented with porcellaneous wares from 1818 to 1846. In fact, this figure of Apollo is taken directly from one made around 1770 by his famous uncle, Ralph Wood of Burslem. Little scholarship has been done in this field of English hybrid hard paste ceramics, and developments are awaited with interest. For the moment, an attribution to Enoch Wood or another member of the Wood family of potters makes perfect sense. Apollo wears a green laurel wreath and plays his traditional lyre. He stands atop a set of four shells which would have held candied fruit, nuts or sweets on a banquet table. The base is encrusted with a variety of three-dimensional shells, tufts of moss and corals in many colors. The back shell has been repaired and repainted, and one other shell has two underside chips. Otherwise it is in excellent condition with only slight glaze wear. This is a piece owned by a good friend of mine. Please email me for more information or other pictures.