Camels, though known about in England for centuries, would have still been a great subject of curiosity for the general population. They were first recorded in a collection of animals gathered for the amusement of King Henry I at the royal palace at Woodstock in about 1130. However, before the opening of the first public zoo in Britain in 1847, the most common way for people to encounter exotic and wild animals was seeing them in printed illustrations in newspapers or magazines. Camels would also have been included in carved and painted wooden form in Noah’s Arks which were very popular toys of the period. Some people may have been fortunate enough to catch sight of these majestic, stoic creatures in a travelling menagerie, which became popular phenomenon of the Georgian period. In the late 1750s Richard Heppanstall exhibited a collection of camels at Talbot Inn on the Strand in London, which he later took on tour to Edinburgh.
This camel was probably made in the 1820s or 1830s. Its design closely resembles a figure attributed to Ralph Wood, a key name in Staffordshire figure making. Ralph Wood I (1715–1772) was a highly skilled model maker and block cutter, creating original models for working moulds.
Unlike the earlier version, decorated with subtle coloured glazes, this later example was painted in brighter enamels and probably has no direct link to the Wood family.
