Dish or Charger
Date1648 (dated)
OriginEngland, London
MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft)
DimensionsOH: 4"; Diam: 18 1/2"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1961-33
DescriptionLarge shallow-bowled charger with wide, angled rim and stepped foot ring. Lead glaze on the back; white tin glaze on the front decorated in pastel shades of blue, green, manganese, orange, and yellow with an interpretation of Susanna and the Elders: Susanna, wearing a brief skirt and combing her hair; behind her, two bearded men with hats, to the left an elaborate fountain; in the sky, a human faced sun. Inscribed in blue, "E F C 1648." Mermaids, dolphins, and, in reserves, cherubs on the rim; blue dashes on copper edge.Label TextThis dish illustrates the influence of Italy via northern Europe on English delft and may have been copied from, or at least inspired by, a piece of Italian majolica. Some seventeenth-century chargers painted with religious subjects were inspired by prints (such as CWF accession 1959-52), but the source for the dish shown here is not known. Scholar Michael Archer points out the similarities in painting techniques between this charger, one depicting the Nativity in the Burnap Collection, and an Expulsion from the Garden charger at the British Museum. The London attribution is based on the fact that delft was not being produced anywhere else in England at the time this piece was made.Inscription(s)"E F C 1648"Mark(s)NoProvenanceTilley & Co., London
