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Baluster vase with Samson and Delilah, by Denis Lefebvre

Image attached to C.2314 & A-1928

An image of Baluster vase and cover. Conrade Pottery. Lefebvre, Denis. Baluster-shaped with octagonal lower part, and octagonal cover, domed in the centre, and surmounted by a cone-shaped finial which is a replacement in hard-paste porcelain held on by a dowel. The sides are decorated with a continuous scene of Samson and Delilah with in the background, a lake (or the sea), buildings on islands or the shore, and distant mountains. Samson with the ass's jawbone in one hand, lies asleep against the knees of Delilah, who holds a pair of scissors, and has already cut off some of his hair. Behind her are five Phillistines dressed in Roman style armour, one holding a rope to bind Samson. On the right there are two columns and a tent, and on the left, a column and behind it in the distance, a troop of soldiers. On the other side there is a standing soldier on the extreme left, some armour on the ground, and a man to its right pointing towards it. Further to the right are two standing soldiers, one resting his arm on a shield. Behind him are three tents. On the ground to the right of the man wth the shield, there is a stone block inscribed 'DL(joined) F/1644'. The cover is decorated with blue waves on which there is a mermaid holding a torch, a triton, Neptune reclining on a fish with a putto in front of hime, shells, and a large fish. The finial is blue with remnants of gilding. Earthenware, tin-glazed, painted in polychrome, height (whole) 45 cm, diameter (base) 16.5 cm, diameter (rim) 12.4 cm, dated 1644. Nevers, France. Renaissance.

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Baluster vase and cover. Conrade Pottery. Lefebvre, Denis. Baluster-shaped with octagonal lower part, and octagonal cover, domed in the centre, and surmounted by a cone-shaped finial which is a replacement in hard-paste porcelain held on by a dowel. The sides are decorated with a continuous scene of Samson and Delilah with in the background, a lake (or the sea), buildings on islands or the shore, and distant mountains. Samson with the ass's jawbone in one hand, lies asleep against the knees of Delilah, who holds a pair of scissors, and has already cut off some of his hair. Behind her are five Phillistines dressed in Roman style armour, one holding a rope to bind Samson. On the right there are two columns and a tent, and on the left, a column and behind it in the distance, a troop of soldiers. On the other side there is a standing soldier on the extreme left, some armour on the ground, and a man to its right pointing towards it. Further to the right are two standing soldiers, one resting his arm on a shield. Behind him are three tents. On the ground to the right of the man wth the shield, there is a stone block inscribed 'DL(joined) F/1644'. The cover is decorated with blue waves on which there is a mermaid holding a torch, a triton, Neptune reclining on a fish with a putto in front of hime, shells, and a large fish. The finial is blue with remnants of gilding. Earthenware, tin-glazed, painted in polychrome, height (whole) 45 cm, diameter (base) 16.5 cm, diameter (rim) 12.4 cm, dated 1644. Nevers, France. Renaissance.

Image data

  • Accession Number: C.2314 & A-1928
  • Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
  • Aperture: f/32.0
  • Focal length: 85
  • Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II
  • Photographer name: Michael Jones
  • Image height: 1024 pixels
  • Image width: 683 pixels
  • Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)
  • Filesize: 688.45kB
  • Exposure time: 1/100
  • ISO Speed: 100
  • Fnumber: 32/1
  • Captured: 2009:01:16 20:55:51

Key words

17th Century armour baluster vase biblical Conrade Pottery cover Delilah Denis Lefebvre earthenware enamel enamelled Fitz_AA French glazed Late Renaissance Lefebvre lidded Nevers pottery Old Testament Philistine polychrome pottery religion religious Renaissance Samson Samson and Delilah sea soldiers tin-glazed vase warriors

Colours in this image

rgb(75,77,78), rgb(209,198,175), rgb(149,141,128), rgb(161,186,205), rgb(100,148,195), rgb(210,151,54), rgb(19,37,53), rgb(50,101,148), rgb(107,140,145), rgb(39,25,11), rgb(180,100,12)

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The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Baluster vase with Samson and Delilah, by Denis Lefebvre" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-891493140 Accessed: 2024-12-23 00:19:58

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-891493140 |title=Baluster vase with Samson and Delilah, by Denis Lefebvre |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-23 00:19:58|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Baluster vase with Samson and Delilah, by Denis Lefebvre</figcaption>
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