Before the age of Instagram—or even newspapers—the hottest way to keep up with the news was by buying… a ceramic dog. Or a mermaid. Or maybe a very bloody crime scene. Staffordshire porcelain figures of the 18th and 19th centuries documented everything from household pets to headline-worthy scandals, and they were irresistible: affordable, collectible, and sometimes downright outrageous.

Enter Joie Anderson—interior designer, museum lecturer, and badminton champion—who started painting watercolors of Staffordshire figures after a client asked her to include one in a room vignette. “One thing led to another—it was contagious,” she says. Soon enough, the dogs, lions, and mermaids had company: all the deliciously naughty Staffordshire scenes history had to offer.

That’s where Tiny Gallery comes in. Joie and Tiny Gallery curator, Francesca Castagnoli,  went down the rabbit hole to uncover Staffordshire’s wild side. Turns out, the beasties weren’t just sitting pretty—they were misbehaving in all kinds of ways. A popular favorite was mermaids. Traveling menageries often featured “mermaids” constructed from various dead animal parts—and Staffordshire did its best to keep the fantasy alive.

Staffordshire also knew that tragedy sold. One particularly gruesome incident was commemorated in porcelain after a mother and her child were mauled by a tiger in 1850 (see pic) when the animal escaped from a traveling circus in the middle of the night. It’s horrifying, heartbreaking—and now immortalized by Anderson as a delicate paper cut-out. The potters never shied away from drama, so why should Joie?

Please note that some works have been removed from the show due to their content, which is not suitable for all audiences.