Captain Houndsley French Provincial Dog Bust in a Bow Tie, Rust Cast Iron 26.5cm

A terrier in a bow tie, ears up, entirely certain of himself.

Captain Houndsley is a dog head bust cast in solid iron and finished in a natural rust patina: a sharp-featured terrier with tall pricked ears, wearing a buttoned jacket over a bow tie, mounted on a flared pedestal foot with a square base. He weighs 2.8 kg, which is the difference between cast iron and the resin pieces that copy this shape. The casting carries the set of the ears, the knot of the bow tie and the lapel of the jacket.

At 26.5cm he is the size of a table lamp, small enough to lift with one hand and detailed enough to earn a shelf on his own. He is built for outdoor life: the pedestal gives him a flat stable foot, and the rust patina is a finish rather than a fault, so weather deepens him instead of wearing him out.

Why we love it

• ◆The ears, cast up and forward, which gives him a silhouette you can read from across a room
• ◆The bow tie, properly knotted and slightly askew, worked as carefully as the face
• ◆The weight, 2.8 kg of solid cast iron on a pedestal foot, so he stays exactly where you put him
• ◆The rust patina, deep amber along the ears and muzzle, russet in the jacket folds, and it only improves outdoors

How to style it

The ears are the whole silhouette, so give him clear air above his head.

• Stand him on a hall console with nothing hanging over him
• Use him as a bookend where the ears break the line of the spines
• Put him on a mantel beside a mirror so the profile doubles
• Pair him with Colonel Barkley at 29cm, the hound in a shirt
• Group him with the rest of our garden sculptures

Care & Keeping

Wipe with a soft dry cloth to lift dust out of between the ears and around the bow tie. The rust patina is a finished surface and needs no sealing. Place a felt pad or a saucer underneath on pale stone or painted timber, and keep harsh chemical cleaners and abrasive pads away from him.

Because Captain Houndsley is hand-finished, slight variations in patina, texture, and grain are natural and add to the unique character of each piece. Colour may also vary slightly between screens, all photography is taken in natural light.