Unusual Staffordshire deer w/ flowers. Is this some sort of Dresden lace? Any idea on when made?

The extremely large vent hole is indicative of 20th century manufacture.

 

The vent hole is not good, but they're still a very attractive pair. The screen-like foliage backing the pieces is called bocage (brocage?).

 

Brocage.

 

This was my first thought, but I figured I'd better be sure of the definition before posting, so I looked it up online and brocage didn't work. Bocage, on the other hand, is a screen of trees or foliage and is applied to this use in ceramics.

So I searched online, and both spellings returned examples, which is why I used both in my response.

But now I've gone and looked at some of my auction catalogs, and both Christie's and Sotheby's say "bocage", no letter r.

If I was listing and had the space, I'd probably use both.

 

In English I used to see brocage a lot, but in French it would be bocage, describing a backdrop of trees or a piece of land surrounded by trees.
To complicate matters, we use the French word coulisse in Dutch for the landscape feature, as well as for the backdrop and wings of a theatre stage.

I would also use both terms in a listing.

 

I've always seen it as bocage, sans r.

They're nicely done, those.

 

sold for $1100 so I guess it was very nicely done

 

I'd like to know what the buyer knew.

 

I adore the knowledge floating around here!!! Y'all are awesome!

 

Slip casting is inimical to the notion of 19th C Staffordshire for figurines like these. It does usually indicate a later date, but date isn't everything, nor are all such figures Staffordshire. Slip casting was developed in the 18th C, so it's not even a sure thing that it means a later date.

 

exactly

 

what about the base? The glaze appears to have flowed onto the bottom/base during the process. Is that an indication of a little older type?

 

also what are those square shaped holes in the backside? Are those meant to hold something?