£1,750
Scottish Works of Art & Whisky | 606
Auction: 12 August 2020 at 11:00 BST
terracotta, covered in a black glaze, unmarked
Note: Only two other black terracotta Wemyss figures have appeared at auction in recent times; a cat, offered at William Hardie's, Glasgow on Thursday 10th December 1992; and a small pig at Sotheby's, Gleneagles on Tuesday 29th August 2006, Lot 218. Interestingly the Sotheby's pig was also unmarked, however the figure of the cat was marked by the factory. This anomaly may suggest that terracotta figures were made in a commercial section of the pottery with other terracotta ranges, rather than in the Wemyss shop. Additionally each known terracotta example has been slightly smaller than its earthenware counterpart, probably due to differences in shrinkage in the kiln.