Crested china bust of a sailor : First World War

Crested china bust of a sailor. The tally band on the sailor's cap reads 'H.M.S. DREADNOUGHT'. On his chest is the coat of arms for Barnard Castle, County Durham, England. Across his chest reads 'The Handy Man'. The edges of his collar are gilded, although some of the gold has worn off. There are also remnants of gilding around the outer edge of his cap.

Crested china collecting became a craze in the Victorian period when tourists bought small ivory coloured porcelain ornaments decorated with the coats of arms of the towns they had visited to take home as a souvenir. Before the First World War companies (the most famous and the original being Goss crested china) made collectibles such as vases, plates and other crockery, houses, public buildings, cars and replicas of visitor attractions. During the war the range of souvenirs was expanded to include military caps, equipment, vehicles and figures such as sailors, nurses and soldiers.