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Potter: Simpson, John, potter (Possibly)
Octagonal slipware dish decorated on the front with a design of pomegranates and fleur-de-lis, and with the initials I S
Dark buff earthenware, press-moulded to produced the design in relief on the interior, coated with cream slip, slip-trailed in brown and dark brown, and lead-glazed. The reverse is undecorated and has groups of indentations around the middle where the clay was pressed into the mould. The dish is octagonal with sloping sides. In the middle is a stylized carnation in a circular medallion surrounded by four pomegranates alternating with four fleur-de-lis. Below the medallion are the initials I S in relief. Round the edge is a row of dots and eight circles linked by scalloped lines.
History note: Purchased in Banbury in 1903 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge
Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest
Height: 5.6 cm
Width: 35.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
18th Century, Early
Circa
1700
CE
-
1720
CE
The initials IS may be those of the potter, John Simpson. The design was probably derived from a late 17th century printed wallpaper featuring pomegranates and tulips, of which a sample is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (E.337-1932). At least fifteen dishes with variants of this design are known including one in the Longridge Collection which, in addition to the moulded initials I S, is slip-trailed near the edge with the initials and date, 'WL 1715'. Craftsmen frequently use earlier printed sources for their designs, and some of the dishes may have been made earlier, or later, as the initials and date on the Longridge example were not part of the design on the mould. Further examples are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, C.151-1926, The Potteries Museum, Hanley, 1944 P587, the Burnap Collection, Kansas City, B773, and Colonial Williamsburg 1957-135.
Decoration
composed of
slip
( pale cream, brown and dark brown)
Front
composed of
lead-glaze
Press-moulding : Dark buff earthenware, press-moulded to produced the design in relief on the interior, coated with cream slip, slip-trailed in brown and dark brown, and lead-glazed. The reverse is undecorated and has groups of indentations around the middle where the clay was pressed into the mould.
Inscription present: in relief; the I has a horizontal bar across the top and about half way up
Accession number: C.194-1928
Primary reference Number: 72895
Old object number: R 694
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) "Dish" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/72895 Accessed: 2025-04-15 02:08:53
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/72895
|title=Dish
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-04-15 02:08:53|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-72895
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/aa4/C_194_1928_281_29.jpg"
alt="Dish"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Dish</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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