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81. Boxing |
Enamel-painted Figures
81.6a and 81.6b.
The figure on the left below is like 81.6 but is photographed from a better angle. The figure to the right is apparently from the same molds, but it has been assembled to present a different stance, and the post is placed to the boxer's other side. As a result, the figures stand together as a pair. I suspect this figure is intended to be Cribb because I have seen it paired with Molyneux.
The figure on the left below is like 81.6 but is photographed from a better angle. The figure to the right is apparently from the same molds, but it has been assembled to present a different stance, and the post is placed to the boxer's other side. As a result, the figures stand together as a pair. I suspect this figure is intended to be Cribb because I have seen it paired with Molyneux.
81.6c. This figure of Tom Cribb was probably made in Scotland. Note the unusual colors that suggest a Scottish attribution. Courtesy John Howard.
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81.6d. Cribb and Molyneux. Probably made in Scotland. Courtesy staffordshire-figures.com.
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81.7a. This image, (c) Christie's, is from an old catalog. It could hardly be tinier. I think it is the same model as 81.7 but atop a square base.
81.10a. I might give my eye teeth to see this little figure, which uses the same figure molds, I think, as the Walton figure of Spring and Langan shown in 81.10.
81.14.
I am intrigued by the two pugilists standing on one base, shown alongside a figure of Cribb for scale. The page is from a 1974 Sotheby's auction catalog. The figures probably represent Cribb and Molineaux--although Molineaux certainly was not the only successful black pugilist. No other example of this small figure is known. I suspect that these same figure molds, with modification to the hair, were used for the Walton group of Spring and Langan in 81.10-11.
I am intrigued by the two pugilists standing on one base, shown alongside a figure of Cribb for scale. The page is from a 1974 Sotheby's auction catalog. The figures probably represent Cribb and Molineaux--although Molineaux certainly was not the only successful black pugilist. No other example of this small figure is known. I suspect that these same figure molds, with modification to the hair, were used for the Walton group of Spring and Langan in 81.10-11.
This oil painting sold at auction in the US and was thought to portray Molineux, who was known to imbibe to excess.
A contemporary engraving of Tom Cribb
The second Cribb-Molineaux fight, September 1811.
Color-glazed Figures
Attributed to Ralph Wood and said to be the prize fighter Gentleman Humphreys. The model persisted into the nineteenth century and seems to have been used to portray a range of pugilists, including the black pugilist Thomas Molineaux. See figs. 81.7-9. (c) Sotheby's, lot 32, 19 Nov. 2002.