This is an interesting Scottish figurine. It was made at Coll Pottery based on the Isle of Lewis in the late 1960s / early 1970s.
These pieces of vintage Coll studio pottery made on the Scottish Islands are now highly collectable.
These quirky figurines depicting local life and customs were originally made by Marjory Maclellan, who made a variety of stylized clay figures to capture the heritage of life on the islands which was gradually dying out. She was probably looking at much earlier East Coast Potteries such as Prestonpans for her initial inspiration. The figurine is rather naive and this adds to Coll Pottery's charm.
Maclellan's figures would have been made as part of the Craftmade scheme that was introduced by the Highlands and Islands Development Board in 1971.
Certainly, these naive school figurines are very charming - and their transitions, from their original conception in the 1970s, are interesting in a historical context.
My figurine shows a Hebridean Lady sitting on a drystone wall. The main figure is a variant on a theme - and she often has slight changes to the model to show her with fish, a spinning wheel etc. This one the lady is gathering wool and getting it ready for spinning. She holds it in her hands a little purl of real wool (original to the sculpture). She wears a long brown skirt, black boots and a blue top. The has an aubergine headscarf. All her fingers are intact with no losses to them.
In good condition with no damages. It is marked on the base Coll Pottery Isle of Lewis
Dimensions: height is 6 3/4 inches. The base at the widest is 3 3.4 inches. Unpacked it is 500 grams.
UK Postage will be with Royal Mail Recorded Small Parcel. This will be applied to your order at the checkout.