Description:
English delft tile decorated with a reddish-brown transfer print that is known as "The stag looking into water." This scene was based on an edition of "Aesop's Fables" compiled by Dr. Samuel Croxall, which was in turn based on larger version published by Thomas Rycroft in 1665. Croxall's edition was published in London in 1722 as "Fables of Aesop and others. Newly done into English. With an application to each Fable. Illustrated with Cutts." The plates for this book were engraved by Elisha Kirkall from originals by Francis Barlow, Sebastien Le Clerc, and Francois Chauveau. Five other editions were produced in London through the mid 18th century; three American editions were produced in 1777, 1783, and 1787 although the engravings were reversed and much cruder. Anthony Ray has identified 45 fable tiles from this series, all of which he believes were engraved by the same person, probably Richard Abbey (1754-1819) who was apprenticed to John Sadler (1720-1789) and Guy Green (w.1750-1799) from 1767 to 1773 when he opened his own business as an engraver and printer in Liverpool, working as a freelance engraver to the trade. In the fable, the stag admired the reflection of his fine antlers and scorned his spindly legs, but his legs would have saved him from the chasing hounds if his antlers had not been caught in the bushes. The tile scene shows a stag leaning over a stream, with two hounds chasing another stag in the middle background and a manor house and hills in the far background. The scene is bordered with a rococo scroll known as the "88" border. The lower right corner is broken off.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+3039 |
