A Reg Johnson Figurine- Egyptian Water Carrier

Reginald Johnson — Egyptian Water Carrier is a studio pottery figure by one of the most remarkable and least-known names in twentieth century British ceramics. Reginald Johnson was born in Burslem in 1909 and joined Royal Doulton at the age of fourteen, where at sixteen he became the only student ever to receive direct personal tuition from Charles J. Noke — the legendary art director who had invented the Flambe glaze and shaped the entire character of the HN figurine series. Johnson went on to become Art Director of Paragon China, by then part of the Royal Doulton Group, before retiring to his own studio where he continued to produce figures until his death in 1993.

Standing 7 inches tall, the Egyptian Water Carrier is a characteristic expression of Johnson's mature studio work — a figure drawn from the ancient world of the Nile, individually potted and hand-painted entirely by the artist himself with the precision and authority of a man trained at the highest level of the Staffordshire tradition. Johnson worked in the spirit of the great Royal Doulton Middle Eastern character subjects he had grown up around, but his studio pieces carry something the factory line never could — the complete, unmediated hand of one artist from first to last.

Because Reginald Johnson worked entirely alone in his studio, producing each piece individually by hand, his output across his entire career was severely limited in number. Unlike factory figurines where hundreds or thousands of identical examples exist, no two Johnson studio pieces are precisely alike, and the total number of surviving examples across all subjects is genuinely small. Collectors who have discovered his work pursue it with a seriousness and dedication that reflects both its scarcity and its quality — and the Egyptian Water Carrier, as a subject rooted in the Middle Eastern tradition Johnson knew so well from his Doulton years, is among his most compelling works.

This figurine is offered in excellent condition and is packed with care using double-box technique with professional-grade materials. We ship worldwide.