A very nicely preserved early 19th century hand-painted version of the classic "Vicar and Moses" glazed pottery work by Staffordshire of England, likely evocative of the Great Awakening under George Whitefield and the Methodists.
The earliest Staffordshire figure groups of The Vicar and Moses were decorated with coloured glazes and made by Ralph Wood of Burslem, c. 1782-1795. Similar groups decorated in enamel colours, like this one, appeared from the early 1800s and versions were made throughout the century.
The meaning of the work is perhaps hinted at by two clues: 1. One of the versions of this was produced by Enoch Wood [1790-1810], a strong supporter of the then new and young Methodist movement, with many younger curates and clerks being influenced by them. In Wood's version, the Vicar is clearly inebriated. 2. The title references the work to a satirical ballad, The Vicar and Moses, by George Alexander Stevens, published c. 1772. The ballad tells of a drunken vicar assisted in his duties by his clerk, Moses [not the biblical Moses].
9.5 inches in height in a very fine state of preservation as shown.