Martinware stoneware figure

The Martin brothers, Robert, Walter, Charles and Edwin, ran a pottery workshop in Southall, Middlesex, from the 1870s - 1914. Their work was highly original, and they are considered today to pre-figure modern studio potters. They specialised in hand-made 'one-off' pieces. They produced vessels, tiles and figures, although are best known for their unusual jars in the form of birds.

They visited Norwich in 1891, for an Industrial Exhibition held at St Andrews Hall. This resulted in a series of works related to Norwich. Ernest Marsh, the collector who donated this figure to Norwich Castle, recorded that the well-known Gurney and Fry families admired the Martins' work, and it was they who invited the brothers to take part in the exhibition.

One of the works the Martins produced was this lively portrait of Will Childerhouse, then the Norwich Town Crier. It was modelled from life, and later finished in their studio.