Description:
Chinese export porcelain tea canister inscribed with the mispelled "Aems of Liberty" in black and two portrait medallions, both in a pseudo-armorial or heraldic design that contain overt political statements, which were derived from a London broadside, "Arms of Liberty and Slavery," issued in June 18, 1768, and are separated by floral sprays. The portrait of John Wilkes (1725-1797) is topped with a crest with a lion passant; is over the motto, "ALWAYS READY IN A GOOD CAUSE;" and is flanked by two figures - his friend and legal advisor Serjeant Glynn (1722-1779) in flowing robes on the left and his patron Lord Temple (1739-1802) in coat and breeches on the right. The portrait of Lord Mansfield (1705-1793), Chief Justice from 1756-1788, is over the motto "UUSTICE SANS PITIE" (Justice without mercy); and is supported by Lord Bute (1713-1792) in coat and breeches on the right and the Devil on the left. Mansfield was the judge who produced the judgment against Wilkes for the libelous attacks on King George III. The crest over Mansfield’s portrait, a snake flanked by thistles, is a thinly veiled reference to Lord Bute’s Scottish connections and his possible Jacobite leanings. Rumored to be a Jacobite and involved in an affair with the King’s mother, Bute became Wilkes’s favorite target. Due in part to Wilkes’ attacks, Bute resigned his position on April 8, 1763. Wilkes, an English political reformer and satirist, became a member of Parliament for Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire in 1757. Although considered a radical in England (with a notorious private life), he was honored for his integrity. Throughout his long career both in and out of government, Wilkes advocated for basic civil rights such as free speech, freedom of the press, standardized procedures for police arrests, and colonial rights. In 1761, Wilkes started the periodical, "The North Briton", which satirized the government. The provocative tone of this publication made it an instant hit, selling well over 2,000 copies weekly, nearly ten times the circulation of the government friendly, conservative newspaper, "The Briton." In 1763, "The North Briton" issue "No. 45” said, in effect, that the colonies should be free and satirized King George III’s speech on the Treaty of Paris (which ended the Seven Year's War), which outraged the King and court and lead to his being convicted of libel in 1764 before Lord Mansfield. Cries of “Wilkes and Liberty,” went up from his adoring public in support of his cause, and the “No. 45” represented a movement of revolt against the government. According to Wilkes, his trial would determine whether “English liberty be a reality or a shadow.” Wilkes won his case, claiming Parliamentary privilege exempted him from prosecution; however when he was charged with blasphemous libel after being expelled from parliament, Wilkes fled England, returning in 1768 when he was arrested again, serving 22 months in prison. Eventually he was expelled from Parliament five times between 1764 and 1772, and served as Lord Mayor of London in 1774. Wilkes’ fame resulted in his idolization in England and the American colonies; many commemorative items with Wilkes' image, such as prints and ceramics, were produced for the domestic market and export. Although Wilkes supported the independence of the American colonies, he did have his detractors; Benjamin Franklin called Wilkes “an outlaw …of bad character, not worth a farthing.” This Wilkes tea canister is a rare example of a teaware form decorated in this pattern. Five known examples survive: a teapot in the Peabody Essex Museum; a teapot in the collection of dealer Alberto Varela Santos; a creampot in Washington & Lee University’s Reeves Center Collection, a spoon tray in the Winterthur Museum, and a coffee cup in a private collection. The ovoid-shaped canister form was popular from about 1735-1765.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+57.095 |
