Figure of the Day: Mother Goose, 1890

"Mother Goose"
Staffordshire
1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From Staffordshire, this figurine represents Mother Goose--the subject of the fairy tale which appeared in a French collection published by Charles Perrault and was translated into English in 1729.

Made in 1890, the figure may have been produced because the fairy tale was a generally popular subject, or, most likely because of a theatrical production which was opening at the time. We should note that much earlier in the Nineteenth Century the clown Grimaldi (who was the model for Mr. Punch’s friend, Joey the Clown) had made his name in the Covent Garden production of Dibdin's pantomime “Mother Goose,” or, “the Golden Egg.”

The figure of Mother Goose is shown on goose-back, on a circular colored base, holding a broom in her right hand. She is wearing a white striped hat, a mauve shawl, a green bodice and an apron over a white shirt.