Description:
One of a set of six delft octagonal "Merryman" plates decorated in blue. When the six plates are assembled in order, the rhyme reads: "what is a merrey man / let him doe what he cane / to entertain his guests / with wine and marrey jest / but if his wife doth frowne / all merriment goes downe." The humor of the verses derives from the perennial struggle between husband and wife for control of the domestic household; the rhyme may also employ a play on the words “merry” and “married.” Sarah Richards links these decorative plates with carnival practices, when traditional roles were reversed and women took authority or scolded men for their pleasures. This style of plate inscribed with rhymes probably originated in Holland; each plate was numbered from 1 to 6 and inscribed with one line of a couplet, with three couplets completing the verse. This style was also adopted in England, and this very popular 'Merryman' rhyme has been found on dated round and shaped examples from 1682-1752. However, Historic Deerfield's early set is one of only 12 known complete 'Merryman' sets and 31 part sets. Although the inscriptions are in English, attribution can be difficult since the Dutch were known for producing delftwares for the English market and taste. On January 23, 1995, the delftware expert Jonathan Horne speculated on the Dutch origins of the plates based on the whiteness of the glaze; he also noted that the back of the plates look like London, but the elaborate cartouche is in the Dutch style. An octagonal plate decorated with the third verse of the series, “3 to entertaijne his gets,” was excavated from a Delft privy. Aside from the variation in wording, the plate’s decoration and shape closely resemble the Historic Deerfield examples. The date of the Historic Deerfield plates is based on a single Merry Man plate, dated 1684, in the collection of the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, and a related set in the Longridge Collection with a similar cartouche and 1682 date. Each round well is painted with a cartouche with a center crown flanked by two griffons and linked by scrolls, swags, pendant garlands and tassels, and a winged churub below, enclosing a numbered line. These plates, which show no wear, were probably used as decorative display pieces rather than for serving.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+55.041.3 |
