Attributed to Gibbs & Canning Ltd of Tamworth, Staffordshire after a design by Alfred Waterhouse RA PPRIBA (British, 1830-1905): A rare monumental fired terracotta model of a stylised she-wolf

Circa 1873-1880, the design original conceived for the front elevation parapet of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, and probably produced as a spare during the building of the Museum

Footnotes

Provenance
UK private collection
Purchased by the vendors Grandfather in Sutton Coldfield, Staffordshire circa 1946, thence by family descent.

The offered lot of a wolf is a cast of one of the six large-scale grotesque models of living creatures -the designs (labelled A–F, the wolf being A) by the architect Alfred Waterhouse for the Natural History Museum and almost certainly cast by Gibbs & Canning Ltd. Waterhouse's designs for these models also included one for a lion, presumably of the same design as the lion that was offered for sale at the time when the wolf was purchased by the vendor's grandfather. The original models were placed between the dormers on the west wing parapet of the Museum. The original design, inscribed and numbered in pencil 'Wolf, A, 79' by Waterhouse for the model, can be viewed in the Waterhouse archive held in the permanent collection of the Natural History Museum Library.

The model was purchased by the vendor's grandfather from a large villa in Sutton Coldfield via a 'small ad' in the local newspaper. At the time of acquisition, he was informed by the owners that the wolf had originally been displayed alongside a companion lion, presumably another of Waterhouse's designs and also probably produced by Gibbs & Canning. However, this piece had unfortunately already been sold prior to his visiting the house.

The wolf was then moved to the garden of the vendor's grandfather's home in Anchorage Road, Sutton Coldfield, where it was later adapted by the addition of a hose running up through the wolf's mouth to act as a fountain head feeding a swimming pool. By this time, the wolf had affectionately become known by the nickname 'Fred', although, given that the model depicts a she-wolf, the name 'Freda' might have been more appropriate. A photograph from the early 1960s shows the wolf overlooking the pool, and a further, closer image taken at the vendor's uncle's 21st birthday party in 1967 shows this arrangement in greater detail. Following the passing of the vendor's grandfather in the late 1970s, it was inherited by the vendors uncle, who moved it, firstly to his home in nearby Four Oaks, then again in 1996 to Lichfield, before it eventually left the country for the Canary Islands in the early 2000's. It returned to the UK in 2018, when it was inherited by the vendor from her uncle and brought to their family home in Somerset.

How the wolf model and its companion lion came to be in the garden of a house in Sutton Coldfield just after the last war may initially seem puzzling. However, the recent restoration of a comparable terracotta griffin model by Waterhouse at Tamworth Castle, amongst other animal models held in the collection, provides a possible explanation. According to research by the Castle archivist, the Gibbs & Canning factory produced spare casts to replace items damaged during manufacturing or transit to London, or possibly even to replace them if they were damaged at a later date. It seems likely, then, that these spare models either left the factory at the time of manufacture, perhaps to be sold locally, gifted to friends, or retained by management—or else remained in longer-term storage for some time before eventually being dispersed.

This theory seems very likely given that, although Tamworth Castle is very close, Sutton Coldfield is still approximately only seven miles from the site of the original factory. In addition, Gibbs is recorded as being instrumental in the installation of the first gas supply to Sutton Coldfield - it is also likely that his son may have lived in the town.

Alfred Waterhouse, architect and the Natural History Museum
Almost certainly the most famous of Waterhouse's body of work was his realised design for the Natural History Museum building in South Kensington, London, begun in 1873 and completed in 1880. In this iconic building, the architect created an inspired menagerie of terracotta designs to reflect its purpose as a 'cathedral of nature', with every element of the design paying homage to the natural world.

The commission for the building arose in the mid-19th century when the natural history collections at the British Museum had outgrown the confines of the allotted gallery and storage space. This was due to a steadily increasing influx of acquisitions from the many global expeditions that were taking place during this period. As such, Richard Owen, then superintendent of natural history collections, persuaded the trustees of the British Museum in 1859 that a separate building was needed to accommodate their ever-growing catalogue of the natural world. He envisioned the building as a 'cathedral to nature', celebrating the richness of life on Earth and inspiring scientists and the general public.

However, it took several more years of campaigning before Owen won approval to make this vision a reality. When the decision was finally made in 1864, a competition was held to attract the best design for this new building. Although the contract was awarded to Francis Fowke, who had designed the Royal Albert Hall and parts of the Victoria and Albert Museum, his death the following year led to the relatively unknown architect Alfred Waterhouse being chosen to realise Owen's vision.

Under Owen's guidance, Waterhouse's design retained the British Museum practice of separating the geology and palaeontology departments from the zoology and botany departments. However, Waterhouse's highly idiosyncratic and striking Romanesque design, utilising his iconic animal, bird, and aquatic terracotta decorations, was a revelation. Certainly, Waterhouse and his contemporaries working on 'Albertropolis', the name given to the group of public buildings devoted to art and culture in South Kensington, used terracotta because it could be quickly manufactured and cleaned more easily of London soot and dirt than stone dressings and ornaments, which were labour-intensive to produce and maintain. However, it was Waterhouse's innovative and characteristic designs which raised the medium to a level unmatched by other architects.

Designing from nature under Owen's close guidance, Waterhouse took inspiration for the building's embellishment directly from the natural history collections it would house. Once these designs were approved, they were sent to the architectural modelling company C. Farmer and Brindley, where Waterhouse worked closely with a talented French sculptor called Dujardin. Dujardin's models were then sent to the Staffordshire terracotta manufacturers Gibbs and Canning, to be cast.

At a time when Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was just beginning to reveal the links between extinct and living species, Owen insisted that they be kept separate, both in display and in the ornamentation of the Museum. As such, extinct species were used by Waterhouse to decorate the east wing, and living species the west wing of the building.

Gibbs & Canning Ltd
Gibbs and Canning Limited of Tamworth, Staffordshire, became one of the leading English manufacturers of architectural terracotta.

The firm was founded in 1847 as the Glascote Colliery and Tile Works by John Gibbs (1805–1881), a distinguished inventor, gas engineer, and proprietor of the Evesham Gas Works, with his brother-in-law Charles Canning, to produce 'pipes, bricks, and other earthenware items'. From their Glascote works, the company produced a wide range of terracotta and faience for architectural, sanitary, and garden use.

Although best known for realising the extensive terracotta work for Alfred Waterhouse's Natural History Museum in London, one of the most celebrated examples of Victorian architecture, their influence extended beyond Britain, with commissions exported to Hong Kong, New Zealand, and other parts of the former British Empire.

Related Literature
Cunningham, Colin, The Terracotta Designs of Alfred Waterhouse, Pub. The Natural History Museum, Wiley Academy, London, 2001 (See Pl. VII, 35, p. 105 for the wolf design).

For further information on the recently restored comparable Waterhouse model at Tamworth Castle, see: https://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/attractions/2021/12/23/mythical-creature-sculpture-returns-to-staffordshire-castle/

We would like to thank Rebecca Keddie, Assistant Archivist, Library and Archives, Natural History Museum, South Kensington, and Sarah Williams, Castle Collections & Archives Officer, Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire, for their kind help in cataloguing this lot.