Description:
Chinese export porcelain breakfast cup decorated in the Famille rose palette of pink, yellow, green, blue, brown, and gilding. One side has an oval 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, daughter 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. The other side of the cup has an oval scenic panel bracketed in scrolls connected to the other reserve with elaborate gilt scrolls and two classical urns over pendants. 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." This panel of Asia (pyramid with curving sides, camel, pagoda, and Eastern potentate under a parasol) is one of four found on other pieces of the service that represent the four quarters of the globe or the four continents. The other three are Africa (elephant, crocodile, tree, and naked native trading in trinkets); America (tobacco plants, bear, and an Indian reclining under a tree and holding a tobacco pipe and bow); 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 cider jug (HD 62.001).
Tags:
allegory Link to share this object record:
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