Description:
Chinese export porcelain cider jug with a double, ribbed strap handle ending in foliate terminals decorated in the Famille rose palette of pink, yellow, green, blue, brown, and gilding. The front side has a center, circular reserve with the figure of Hope sitting by a rocky shoreline and resting her left elbow on an oval shield with the coat of arms of Ker, "Gules on a chevron argent three mullets of the field," with Martin in pretence (a man incorporates the arms of his wife within his own shield, usually placed in the center), "Paly of six or and azure on a chief gules three martlets," and an anchor in her right hand. The service was possibly made for the circa 1790 marriage of William Ker of Gateshaw, Roxburghshire, to his first cousin, Jane Martin, daugher of Ellis Martin and Elizabeth Ker; there are other marriages between these families, and several family members were in the East India Company including Jane's brother, Colonel Robert Martin. Two gilt, shaped husk chains with 2 pendants extend from the center reserve to the handle. The rim edge has a wiggly gilt band over two scenic panels bracketed in scrolls alternating with two ovals with classical urns. According to David Howard, "These scenic panels are unique to this service, although the concept they embody was much used by European factories for figure models." The panels represent two of the four quarters of the globe or the four continents represented on other pieces of the service: Asia (pyramid with curving sides, camel, pagoda, and Eastern potentate under a parasol) and America (tobacco plants, bear, and an Indian reclining under a tree and holding a tobacco pipe and bow). The other two continents not represented are Africa (elephant, crocodile, tree, and naked native trading in trinkets) and Europe (mercandise, sailing ship, cannon, cornucopia, and a woman holding a Liberty Baton and Peace Branch). This allegory has perennially aroused the imagination of European decorative artisans and designers, appearing on textiles and needlework, maps and prints, glass, metals, and ceramics. The pictorial images of the four quarters of the globe are derived from Cesare Ripa's "Iconologia," the first modern book on the science of images. First published in Rome in 1593, and illustrated in 1603, Ripa's book drew on classical symbolism known from coins, ancient books, and sculpture to create a compilation of allegorical images such as the seasons, the elements, the rivers, etc. Ripa codified the personification of abstract ideas and the depiction of mythological and allegorical subjects in art. The "Iconologia" became the standard reference for later artists, and established the standard representation of the four quarters that would influence artists for nearly two centuries. For example, the continents in allegorical form are shown in the four corners of a 1657 map engraved by the Dutch cartographer, Nicolaas J. Visscher (1649-1709), and used in Dutch bibles. This service was known as "Carr with Martin in pretence"; however, an old label on the back of a plate from the service stated: "This plate bears the arms of the Ker-Martin Family for whom it was made." Historic Deerfield owns several forms from this service, including a plate (HD 62.127), a hot-water plate (HD 61.002), and a breakfast cup (HD 62.083).
Tags:
allegory Link to share this object record:
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