Royal Doulton Bunnykins

tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, List of glassware, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variet ...

and

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cl ...

s are popular ceramic designs manufactured as nursery dishes and collectible figurines. The chinaware line originated with artwork by Sister

Mary Barbara Bailey Mary Barbara Bailey CRL (born Barbara Vernon Bailey, 28 June 1910 – 4 May 2003) was an English Roman Catholic nun who illustrated the original "Bunnykins" tableware series which was manufactured by the Doulton & Co. factory. The manufacturing ...

(

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Barbara Vernon Bailey), the daughter of Cuthbert Bailey, general manager of Doulton during the 1930s. Unbeknownst to the public, Mary Barbara Bailey was not a professional illustrator, but a nun in the Augustinian Canonesses of the Lateran. Sister Mary Barbara provided illustrations to the designers of Doulton & Co. to be used on tableware. Six Bunnykins figurines were produced based on Sister Mary Barbara's illustrations in 1939 and were designed by

Charles Noke Charles John Noke (1858 Worcester - 27 May 1941), was an English pottery designer and artist who primarily worked for Royal Doulton. History He is noted for producing many different ranges of pottery using differing techniques and was also hugel ...

. Discontinued during World War II, Bunnykins figurines were not reintroduced until 1969. Bunnykins continued to be produced in England until 2005. Bunnykins figurines and tableware are currently produced in Asia.

History

Tableware

Introduced in 1934, Bunnykins tableware depicted Mr. and Mrs. Bunnykins and other rabbits dressed in human clothing, in colorful rural and small-town English scenes, transfer-printed on white china. The earliest pieces, signed "Barbara Vernon" (Sister Mary Barbara Bailey), are quite rare and highly prized. Bunnykins china was used by Princess Elizabeth and

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

and thus became a popular present given as christening and birthday gifts in middle-class English homes. In 1950 Sister Mary Barbara Bailey quit producing drawings for Doulton & Co. A succession of artists took her place providing designs for tableware and figurines. In the early 1950s designs by Sister Mary Barbara were discontinued. Royal Doulton art director Walter Hayward then began designing Bunnykins for production. Bunnykins drawings by Walter were published in the story book ''Picnic for Bunnykins'' published by Kestrel Books in 1984.

Figurines

Figurines by Charles Noke featuring various Bunnykins characters began in 1939. The first line consisted of only six designs. All factories were closed for the duration of World War II, bringing production to a halt, and thus these six figurines have also become very rare. Following the war, production of Bunnykins figurines did not restart until Royal Doulton purchased the Beswick factory in 1969. After this, Bunnykins were numbered with the prefix DB. Figurines were designed by Royal Doulton art director Walter Hayward and design manager Harry Sales. The Bunnykins figurine line is famous for the large number of professions, historical and literary figures, and traditional costumes interpreted as rabbits. Named figurines include Policeman Bunnykins, Nurse Bunnykins,

Sir Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

Bunnykins,

Betsy Ross Elizabeth Griscom Ross (née Griscom;Addie Guthrie Weaver, ''"The Story of Our Flag..."'', 2nd Edition, A. G. Weaver, publ., 1898, p. 73 January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn an ...

Bunnykins, Lapplander Bunnykins, Fortune Teller Bunnykins, and more. In 2005 a Bunnykins figurine honoring Barbara Vernon was produced. Titled "Sister Barbara," it depicts a cloistered nun at her drawing table, presumably painting the original Bunnykins design. Bunnykin figurine Clean Sweep

Citations

References

* Dale, Jean and Louise Irvine. ''Royal Doulton Collectables: A Charlton Standard Catalogue, Fourth Edition,'' Charlton Press, UK (2006) * Irvine, Louise. ''Royal Doulton Bunnykins: Collectors Book,'' Richard Dennis Publications, UK (1996) * Irvine, Louise. ''Royal Doulton Bunnykins Figures,'' UK International Ceramics (1996) {{ISBN, 0951777254

External links