Post Medieval Glazed Ceramic Animal Tile Group

Including tined and gilded types with mainly heraldic crests on torses; many of these objects are published in the Detector Finds book series as well as Buttons & Fasteners 500BC-1840AD. 269 grams total, 14-27 mm



From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.

Comprising two designs in relief including three horses in an enclosure and two animals, likely cats, fighting; coloured glazes. 1.3 kg total, 10 x 9 - 10.5 x 9.5 cm



Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.

The tile production increases in the second half of the sixteenth century and during the following centuries. The fragments discovered from various localities (pot-tiles, rectangular, triangular and trapezoidal panels, open-work crest tiles) were all produced in regional workshops, from the end of the 15th century or at the beginning of the 16th century. They all had diverse decorative motifs, mainly animals and geometrical or vegetal combinations, almost all of them singular finds for this study area.

By William Smith and Charles Eaton; obverse: head with radiate crown; reverse: crowned figure with dagger and chalice. 112 grams, 10.7 cm



From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.

"Billy and Charlies", also known as the Shadwell forgeries, refer to a very extensive series of fake antiquities made in Victorian London by William Smith (Billy) and Charles Eaton (Charley). They were mudlarks who searched the Thames for items of value. William Edwards, a London antique dealer, made Billy's acquaintance around about 1845, and he met Charley some years later. He paid them for items of interest that they found. Billy and Charley earned money from this until 1857, when they decided to counterfeit antiquities. They cast objects from lead or pewter, cutting dies into plaster of Paris moulds with nails and knives, and bathing the finished items in acid to simulate aging. Their commonest products were medallions, but others included daggers, statuettes, ampullae and even small shrines; as they were both illiterate the inscriptions on many of the objects are nonsense. They sold their forgeries to very prominent collectors of the time who thought they were genuine. Eventually, due to the large volume of objects that were appearing on the market, they were arrested and tried at court though they could not be found guilty of any crime at the time. They were released and carried on producing fakes but their style of manufacture had become well known and they eventually disappeared from history.