Royal Doulton Figurine Tumbling HN3283

Tumbling (HN3283) was designed by Douglas V. Tootle and issued from 1990 to 1994, standing 8.75 inches tall. It belongs to the Clowns series and takes its place as one of the more technically demanding subjects in the group — a clown balanced in a headstand on a multicoloured ball, the whole figure caught in the suspended moment of an acrobatic act.

Tootle is best known in the Doulton collecting world for his Pretty Ladies and dance figures, and the decision to place him in the clown series produced something with a different feel from Harper's and Hughes's entries — there is a clarity of composition and a formal elegance to the headstand pose that reflects Tootle's eye for balance and physical grace even when the subject is explicitly comic. The multicoloured ball on which the clown is balanced anchors the piece and provides the visual contrast against the clown's costume that makes the figure work as a display object.

The four-year production run places Tumbling in the category of pieces that take some looking to find, and the clown collecting community pursues all the members of the series with consistent purpose. For collectors building the complete Royal Doulton Clowns group, Tootle's contribution offers something distinct from the more familiar Harper and Hughes pieces, which makes it a particularly worthwhile addition to the set.

Fully insured shipping across Canada with tracking.