Doe and Hope

Description

The very attractive pair of terracotta arch-topped flat-backed half-length seated lions, for positioning either side of an entrance way, each with beautifully textured surfaces, good flowing manes and sharply cast paws, having impress stamped to the fronts with the makers name of ‘A.Mason Winter Hill Fire Bricks Works, Horwich Nr. Bolton’ and surviving from the zeniths of the nineteenth century.

The lions are in good overall condition with no major losses, with small chips to the extremities and wear commensurate with age and weathering. There has been one repair to one paw and there is one claw missing.

Adam Mason & Sons of Horwich, Lancashire, were manufacturers of refractory fire and furnace bricks. In 1896 the Montcliffe Colliery was owned by Adam Mason and Son and managed by Joseph Crankshaw and Joseph Kenwright. It employed 26 men underground and seven surface workers getting coal and fireclay from the Mountain coal seam. The company closed in 1966. It is clear from our research that pieces by this firm are found rarely in today’s market.

A superb pair that would instantly transform any entrance hall or doorway with real aplomb.