Darling Early Staffordshire Dalmatian with a Crooked Smile and a Very Flat Head

As the title suggests this early Staffordshire Dalmatian is not perfect in form, the top of his head is very flat, almost making me wonder if a shelf fell upon it whilst it was drying in the pottery and his smile, well that really is only on one side of his face, so it really is very crooked, maybe the hand who painted it was distracted. I think it is these defects that make him rather special not only was he not thrown out because of them but he has been cherished and loved for over 150 years. But there are also aspects to this dalmatian that are not defects that make him even more admirable. The figurine is I believe an early Staffordshire piece dating to circa 1850 and he sits upright on an oval base which has on the rim and edge of green grass coloured paint. His tail and his claws of his paws are highlighted with the same black paint as well as the collar he wears around his neck, but it is the painting of his spots with is so lovely with lines on large spots interspersed with a line of much smaller ones. Who knows maybe it was the massive amount of concentration needed to paint those spots that led the painter being easily distracted as they finished off this dear Dalmatian's mouth.