Porcelain Mantel Dogs, c1870

Porcelain 63cm x 40cm; overall height: 100cm;
QM

Pair Staffordshire mantel dogs

This pair of charming Staffordshire porcelain dogs are from the Victoria Hotel that was demolished in 1986 to make way for the Riverside Plaza. In 1867, Mrs Catherine Walsh obtained a licence for a shop that became the ‘Victoria Hotel’. Edwin Land, the former Mayor of Queanbeyan purchased the hotel from Mrs Walsh in 1870. It became ‘Land’s Victoria Hotel’. It stayed in the Land Family for many generations.

Staffordshire mantel dogs were modeled after King Charles spaniels, which were named after King Charles II of England.

Queen Victoria brought the dogs to prominence and to the attention of the Staffordshire potteries. Also called pot or china dogs, they were commonly featured on the mantel pieces of Victorian era homes.

 On display in the hotel room of the Queanbeyan Museum