Toby Jugs

A Wilkinson 'Winston Churchill' Toby Jug by Clarice Cliff, circa 1941

Seen here holding a ship in his lap, seated on a Union flag, and a bulldog peeping around from behind. On the base is inscribed 'And may God defend the right', and on the rear inscribed 'Going into action'

Toby Jugs and Clarice Cliff

The Winston Churchill toby jug was part of a set of eleven Wilkinson toby jugs celebrating the Allied Commanders of the First World War.

The limited editions were produced between 1915 and 1919 and later 1941. They comprised of Lord Kitchener, Field Marshall Haig, Admiral Beatty, Admiral Jellicoe, Marshall Joffre, Lord French, David Lloyd George, Marshall Foch, General Botha, President Woodrow Wilson, King George V all designed by Carruthers Gould and, later in 1941, Winston Churchill designed by Clarice Cliff.

Toby Jug History

Toby jugs, also referred to as Fillpots or Philpot, are a pottery jug in the form of a seated person, or the head of a well known person. The original Toby Jug was developed and popularised in the 1760's by Staffordshire potters. Although the exact origins of the form are still today disputed, they nearly all originally depicted a rather rogueish chap who loved to live life to the excess- whether that be drinking, smoking, eating, and in Boris Johnson's case partying!

So, it seemed logical and apt to choose Boris as my inspiration for my sculpture. Though, my figure does not conform to the traditional form of the toby jug it borrows the humour and style from this genre. And when Boris received the sculpture, he, too, referred to it as a toby jug, as well as an ' amazing homunculus' (latin for 'little man').

Boris Johnson Sculpture by Flavia Brilli

 

The Inspiration

In 2012, inspired by the Olympics and my love of ceramic figures, I decided to marry the two elements and create a sculpture of Boris Johnson who was mayor of London at that time. The idea was seeded after a visit to Brighton and Hove museum and a long thinking walk which is how I usually formulate my ideas. I knew I loved pottery, and I knew I loved figures, and without any thought, Boris popped into my head as the best chap for the project. At that time he was a well-loved and popular figure. And despite the storms he may have weathered since, I still stand by my choice of Boris for my project, as his sense of fun and larger-than-life character is especially suited to the the toby jug theme, which is usually to depict someone a little rogueish who loves life to excess. 

Also I have always had a very deep and sneeky admiration for another naughty fella who turned my hometown, Brighton, from sleepy fishing village into the the hub of creativity it is today: the very naughty Prince Regent George IV, also referred to as Prinny. He too was a larger than life character and often lampooned by the press of his day. But the fact is Brighton would still be a sleepy town,  if the Prince had not put his stamp on it by building the extravagant Royal Pavilion, and inviting all his rich buddies who then commissioned the architect Nash to design all the gorgeous regency architecture which is such a feature of Brighton and Hove today.

Here's a fabulous painting by the artist Whistler which is aptly named ' HRH the Prince Regent Awakening the Spirit of Brighton'.

My Boris Johnson sculpture intentionally doesn't conform to the Toby jug format of handle and jug, but borrows the humour and fun of the Toby jug genre and blends it with the character of Boris Johnson. During Boris's time as Mayor of London, he was well known for his love of cycling to work each day, and well known for his humorous antics. So it was a wonderful challenge to combine a figure with a bike, with plenty of humour and fun, but which would also be anchored in time by a unique, historic event: the 2012 Olympics in Britain.

Boris Johnson's letters

 

Treasured mementos from Boris who sent not just one but two letters to me: one handwritten and one formal from his office when he was Mayor of London. Of course, it was wonderful to get his feedback and it inspired me to produce another figure.

Handwritten thank you letter

 

After I despatched the book, showing my thought process and how I made my Boris sculpture, to my shock and surprise a handwritten letter from Boris arrived at my address. It was of course wonderful to receive his personal feedback and even more pleasing to know he was 'thrilled' by my efforts.

It also inspired me to make a second Boris Johnson figure with a Union Jack on the plinth. See below.