Samantha Robinson of Heritage Auctions talks Martin Brothers Stoneware Grotesques

Founded in 1873 by four brothers - Robert Wallace, Walter, Edwin and Charles - London-based Martin Brothers is widely considered a primogenitor of the 20th-century studio pottery movement. For half a century, the firm produced distinctive functional wares and sculptural figures in salt-glazed stoneware. While it produced a wide variety of products, Martin Brothers is best known for its whimsical grotesque wares in the form of anthropomorphized birds and chimerical creatures. Wally Bird tobacco jars are the most iconic of the Martin Brothers’ grotesque wares. Named after eldest brother Robert Wallace, Wally Birds do not depict specific species but instead a combination thereof, characterized by upright posture, exaggerated features and comical expressions. The Birds were not merely decorative but imbued with a sense of satire and commentary, reflecting the brothers’ observations of society. These avian-human amalgams served as caricatures of their metropolitan Victorian viewers and met their gazes with defiance and mockery. Meet the cast of characters, both Wally Birds and other fictitious beasts, in our upcoming April 18 Pursuit of Beauty auction!
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