HISTORY:
Another Bunnykins from my wife's collection, this item being excess to her collection and she now wants a new home found for this piece.
Designed "post" Barbara Vernon (Sister Mary Bailey) by Walter Hayward (Art Director), this Mr Piggly's Store design continued for many years.
Oh yes, aren't bunnies cute? (unless you are a farmer!) but many people don't realise that each piece of "Bunnykins" is like reading a storybook!
This artwork is not just a bunch of cute bunnies in the store! Imagine you are a child looking at this saucer and your imagination is stimulated when you think about the scene that confronts you ...
There is so much going on and much of it can be interpreted differently by different children ...
Bunnies in the store, but what is the story behind the picture on the wall of the store which portrays a rear view of a rabbit. What's that near Mother Rabbit's left side? A butterfly of course (not a mouse which was often used as a "trademark like signature" by Walter Hayward in his designs) with the butterfly being sought after by one of the 'children' with a small net.
Children love these sort of "make up your own story" designs, I know ours did many moons ago and our grandchildren more recently!
ROYAL DOULTON - Child's Saucer ONLY
Fine China
Opaque, meaning that if you hold the saucer up to a bright light you cannot see a shadow of your fingers through the material
Bunnykins Series
Royal Doulton design ID: SF14
Name: MR PIGGLY'S STORE
Design created by Walter Hayward
Original design creation date: 1952
Saucer
Cream (almost a Honey Cream) background - this is the "earlier" colouring whereas later Bunnykins china became much more White looking.
Decoration looks to be a hybrid of handcrafting and transfer decoration, shape outlines are definitely hand strokes and the coloured detail is a combination of solid colours along with "dot (all varying sizes, not the same as with a modern printer) painting" for the various details inside the outlines.
Measures: 140mm diameter with a central depression for the cup measuring 45~50mm diameter
Weight: 140g
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
This backstamp was used from 1952 until approximately the early 1970's (my wife declares that this piece is from the earlier time period, around the 1960's.
Here is a photograph of the actual backstamp on this saucer
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
Clean
NO cracks
NO chips
NO marks to the background or decorations
NO crazing (wet test applied, nothing shows up at all - which frankly amazed me)
NO knife or spoon scratch marks
Ah ha! Nothing is perfect after 65 odd years of occasional use and this saucer does have ONE small, quite indistinct fleabite on the underside.
Even with the single fleabite, this remains to be a very nice example of "Mid Period" Royal Doulton 'Bunnykins' flatware.
