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Moses holding the tablets of the law
Production: Unidentified factory
White earthenware figure moulded in three parts, with 5cm diameter circular hole containing a separately moulded half-bowl to the front, and pearlware glazed. Painted with black, grey, green, blue, red, pink, orange and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt.
Moses sits above the watch opening, which is encircled by a spray of green leaves and blue flowers. His left hand supports the tablets of the law. A black staff rests against his right shoulder. The oval base has a chamfered top edge to the front, on which ‘MOSES’ is inscribed in relief, black script capitals, above a gilt line. The figure is well coloured. Moses wears a pink robe, a yellow skirt decorated with tiny, red, brown and blue flower sprigs, and an orange belt. His hair and beard are long and grey; his feet are bare. The figure is framed by three flame-like green leaves on each side, which curl up from the bottom. The base is concave and glazed. Only the back of Moses is moulded; there is a vent hole 14.5cm from the bottom.
History note: Mrs Shaw (née. Miss C. Crommelin), ‘Art at Home’, 167a Victoria St, London SW, bought for one guinea (£1 and one shilling) on 10 May 1909, by Dr Glaisher, Trinity College, Cambridge
Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest
Depth: 7.5 cm
Depth: 3 in
Height: 31 cm
Height: 12.25 in
Width: 13 cm
Width: 5.125 in
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
19th Century, Mid#
Victoria I
Circa
1860
CE
-
Circa
1875
CE
Rackham (1935) lists this figure as of a type made chiefly by Sampson Smith at Longton, a factory listed in contemporary directories as a ‘manufacturer of figures in great variety’, which began around 1851 and continued to make figures in quantity into the early part of the twentieth century. Sampson Smith figures typically have a flat back, simplified design and plain oval base, so this figure could have been made there. However, there were many other, often smaller, manufacturers of figures working in Staffordshire at this time.
The pose refers to the Old Testament story of the prophet Moses. After an encounter with God in the form of a ‘burning bush’(perhaps represented here by the flame-like leaves around the watch hole), Moses led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt and to the Holy Land that God had promised them. God parted the Red Sea to help their escape and helped them in many other ways. At Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone: ‘And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.’ (The Bible, Authorised King James Version, 1611, Exodus 31.18).
The style and size of this watchstand figure, which is without underglaze cobalt blue, suggest of date of around 1860-75.
Decoration composed of enamels ( black, grey, green, blue, red, pink, orange and flesh-pink) gold
Press moulding
: White earthenware moulded in three parts, with 5cm diameter circular hole containing a separately moulded half-bowl to the front, and pearlware glazed. Painted with black, grey, green, blue, red, pink, orange and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt. The base is concave and glazed. Only the back of Moses is moulded; there is a vent hole 14.5cm from the bottom.
Painting
Lead-glazing
Gilding
Inscription present: base has a chamfered top edge to the front, on which ‘MOSES’ is inscribed in relief, black script capitals, above a gilt line
Accession number: C.1018-1928
Primary reference Number: 71146
Old object number: 2990
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Moses holding the tablets of the law" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/71146 Accessed: 2024-10-30 06:14:48
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/71146
|title=Moses holding the tablets of the law
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-10-30 06:14:48|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa36/C_1018_1928_1_201703_mfj22_dc2.jpg"
alt="Moses holding the tablets of the law"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Moses holding the tablets of the law</figcaption>
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