Description:
Oval, shallow slipware dish with coggled rim with the interior covered with a yellowish-colored glaze over white and iron-rich, brown slips in a combed design, and the reverse coated with a blacking colorant. English slip-decorated earthenware was made in the 17th and 18th centuries for a largely middle-class market. Vast quantities of mugs, dishes, and jugs served everyday purposes like food storage, service, and preparation. Many of these objects did not survive because of that heavy usage. Collectors in the 20th century have admired these once common objects for their sturdy shapes and intricate slip designs. This dish appears to be an 18th century English slipware dish with combed decoration. However, a closer look reveals that this dish is a modern reproduction of that early eighteenth-century form, as reveled by the stark white clay body under the glaze rather than the buff-colored body of the originals. Period slip-decorated dishes have black backs because of the grease and soot of cooking and food preparation. A black coating has been painted onto the back of this dish to recreate the appearance of the years of cooking. There are also no chips, scratches, or abrasions on the surface of the glaze as would occur with an authentic dish. This was probably made by a modern craftsman for reproduction purposes, but since it is not marked, it could be confused with the original article, especially in a poorly lit antique store where the objects could easily fool a trusting buyer.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+93.005.8 |
