Description:
English delft, slab-built flower brick decorated in blue and red on a dark purple ground background. One long side has a standing figure of Neptune holding a trident and dolphin with fish, sun, and a winged dragon; the opposite side has a stylized floral (carnation) motif with the four corners decorated with carnations. One short side has a horned goat, bird and two fish; the opposite has a unicorn, fish, and multi-petaled flower or sun. The top of the closed container, which has a square opening with six holes on either side, has blue fish decoration, which is mostly flaked off. In the Glaisher Collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum, there is a plate with a pale powdered manganese ground, decorated with a cruder copy of the design - Neptune standing with his trident near a dolphin and fish decorated on the flange, which is attributed to Wincanton.The decoration depicts a mythological scene, which is both an unusual subject for English delft and a rare, possibly unique, decoration. The exact nature of the symbolism is a mystery, but may relate to a maritime organization located in or near the seaport of Bristol. Neptune, a symbol of the sea and seafaring, may have had special meaning to the citizens of the port city of Bristol. In 1722, the foundryman John Randall cast an imposing figure of Neptune in lead and erected it on a six-foot pedestal in the Temple area of Bristol. This statue stood in proximity to two delftware potteries, Temple Back Pottery and Redcliff Back Pottery. The stance of Neptune grasping a dolphin's tail and holding a trident is identical to the painted image on the flower brick; the unicorn is also associated with Bristol, being a supporter on the city's coat of arms. The image of the winged dragon was adapted from a woodcut found in Edward Topsell's "The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents" (London, 1608). The image of the unicorn appears to be adapted from one illustrated in "A Compleat History of Drugs" by Pierre Pomet, London, 1712.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+65.032 |
