These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.
Download this imageCreative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.
Factory: Unknown (Possibly)
Cream earthenware, painted under lead-glaze in green, yellow and black on the exterior with four char fish
Cream earthenware with very slightly blue-tinted lead glaze, painted in green, yellow and black underglaze. Circular with straight shallow sides and projecting base. Decorated on the exterior with four char fish swimming towards the left. On the base there are three blue strokes close together and another a short distance away from them.
History note: Passed down in the donor's family
Given by Dr Jane Bidder
Diameter: 19.5 cm
Height: 3.6 cm
Method of acquisition: Given (1993-06-19) by Bidder, Jane, Dr
18th Century, Late
George III
Production date:
circa
AD 1780
The preservation of food to be eaten in the near future, or later in the year when it was out of season, was a very important part of a housewife's duties in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was also necessary to preserve food to be transported elsewhere for sale, for example, delicacies being sent to market in London. One way of preserving meat, eels, fish and shelfish was by potting them. This involved cooking them in a pot or dish, and after they had cooled, transfering them to a clean dish, and covering them with melted butter which hardened and prevented air from reaching the contents. Shallow delftware and creamware dishes decorated with fish were used for potted char, a popular delicacy in the 18th century. This fish, whose full name is the arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), is related to the salmon, and in England is only found in deep land-locked lakes, notably Lake Windermere in Cumbria. Recipes for potted char appeared in several of the best-known 18th century cookery books, such as Elizabeth Moxon's 'English Housewifery exemplified in about Four Hundred and Fifty Receipts' (c. 1741 and ten editions by 1769). Fragments of char dishes have been found on the site of the Lancaster delftware pottery, as well as in Liverpool, where Zacchariah Barnes of the Old Haymarketpottery is said to have specialized in making char dishes to send to the Lake District. Creamware examples may also have been made in Liverpool.
Decoration composed of high-temperature colours ( in green, yellow and black)
Lead-glazing : Cream earthenware with very slightly blue-tinted lead glaze, painted in green, yellow and black underglaze.
Accession number: C.18-1993
Primary reference Number: 72704
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:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Char dish" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/72704 Accessed: 2025-03-23 18:36:40
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/72704
|title=Char dish
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-03-23 18:36:40|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-72704
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa3/C_18_1993_281_29.jpg"
alt="Char dish"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Char dish</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...
