Royal Doulton | Top O' The Hill | HN1834 | Bone China Figure | Copyright 1937
First modelled before the Second World War, Top O' The Hill remained in production for decades — a young woman holding her hat against an imagined gust of wind.
Top O' The Hill was modelled by Leslie Harradine and carries a 1937 copyright date. The HN1834 red colourway was produced for many decades, with specialist references differing slightly on whether its introduction was in 1937 or 1938. Production continued until 2004. The backstamp carries the modeller's signature alongside the figure name, HN number and copyright date. Its Royal Doulton Tableware Ltd wording shows this is a later production example rather than a pre-war one.
The figure depicts a young woman in a sweeping red dress with a yellow-lined underskirt, the full skirt caught in fluid movement. She wears a wide-brimmed hat in yellow-green with a dark red brim and a blue ribbon trim, one hand raised to hold it against the wind. A white fichu sits at the neckline with green sprig detail. The modelling of the face is refined and expressive, with a warm, forward-looking quality characteristic of Harradine's lady figures at their most accomplished. The red of the skirt is deep and richly glazed, with the characteristic tonal variation of Royal Doulton's figure production. The figure stands on a plain unglazed base.
There are no chips, cracks, crazing or restoration. The figure is in excellent condition throughout, with all painted decoration fully intact.
Another ‘Top o’ the Hill’ HN1834 figure from the shop: a second example.
Harradine gave this figure a gesture so precisely observed — one hand at the hat brim, the skirt moving against the wind — that it reads not as a pose but as a moment caught just before it passed.
