Antique Glazed Stoneware Double-Tier Money Box with Finial Top from Denby, 1900

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Two horizontal coin slots puncture the stacked bulbs of this wheel-thrown money box, which terminates in a pointed acorn finial. … Read more Two horizontal coin slots puncture the stacked bulbs of this wheel-thrown money box, which terminates in a pointed acorn finial. The vessel stands on a spreading pedestal base, with the upper and lower globular chambers each providing a separate deposit aperture for coins. Formed from dense Derbyshire stoneware, the exterior is coated in a glossy, lead-based majolica-style glaze. The surface displays pooled streaks of treacle brown, inky cobalt blue, and pale clouded slip that run vertically into the recessed mouldings and waist. In direct lighting, the lustrous glaze exhibits subtle iridescence across the rounded shoulders. Attributed to the Denby Pottery in Derbyshire and made around 1900, such ornamental savings banks were popular domestic novelties. Denby produced a range of decorative wares employing these multi-toned running glazes during the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. As was standard for many practical stoneware novelties of this era, the piece was fired without an impressed factory backstamp. Retrieving accumulated savings from vessels of this traditional design usually required breaking them or shaking coins back out through the slots, making surviving examples uncommon. The unglazed underside of the hollow foot reveals the pale buff, dense body characteristic of Denby clay. The piece stands 20 cm high with a maximum diameter of approximately 11 cm. Overall preservation is very good, with no structural cracks or restoration, retaining crisp turning lines throughout. See less