Antique Scottish pottery figure of Tom Cribb the English boxer early 19th century

Dated: 1820 to 1835 Scottish Portobello Edinburgh

A rare Scottish pottery figure of the famous bare knuckle pugilist Thomas Cribb. The figure would probably have been produced at one of the potteries in the Portobello area located a few miles from Edinburgh. This coastal town was home to several potteries in the early 19th century which have quite distinctive methods of modelling and colouring their wares. Generally such figures produced have a naive quality which adds a certain instantly recognizable uniqueness. Such figures from Portobello are now accepted as stunning pieces of folk art.

Dimensions: 9 inches high

Provenance: Private English Collection.

Literature: Wikapedia reference;Tom Cribb, his first fight was on 7 January 1805 at Wood Green in Middlesex, now part of north London. Victory here, followed by another a month later, persuaded him to become a professional pugilist, under the supervision of Captain Robert Barclay. In 1807 Cribb beat Jem Belcher. In 1810 Cribb was awarded the British title. On 10 December 1810 he fought an American, former slave Tom Molineaux, at Shenington Hollow in Oxfordshire. Cribb beat Molineaux in 35 rounds and became World champion. The fight was controversial for two reasons: Molineaux was injured when the crowd invaded the ring, and Cribb at one point seemed to have taken longer than the specified time to return to the centre of the ring. Cribb retained his title in 1811 by beating Molineaux at Thistleton Gap in Rutland in 11 rounds before a large crowd. Cribb had also beaten Molineaux' trainer Bill Richmond.

£2600    $3510