Plaque of Autumn c1800 Probably made in North East England

Henry Willett was one of the founding fathers of Brighton Museum. Among the many things he gave to the Museum was a collection of popular pottery, the cups and plates and mantelpiece ornaments used by everyday people at the end of the 19th Century.

Henry Willett divided his pottery collection into 23 themes, one of which was Religion.
This Exhibition expands on that theme and takes a closer look at the Gods and Goddesses people have had in their homes.

'On the mantelpieces of many cottage homes .... [are figures] which the inmates admire and revere ... an unconscious survival of the Lares and Penates [household gods] of the Ancients.'

Henry Willett