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A King holding an Orb and Sceptre: C.214-1928

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Current Location: Gallery 27 (Glaisher)

Titles

A King holding an Orb and Sceptre

Maker(s)

Potter: Simpson, Ralph

Entities

Categories

Description

Earthenware dish slip trailed on the front with a king holding an orb and sceptre, and with the name RALPH SIMPSON under lead-glaze.

Buff earthenware, thrown, the front coated with cream slip, slip-trailed in dark ochre and dark brown, and 'jewelled' in cream, under yellowish lead-glaze; the reverse is undecorated. The dish is circular with a wide rim, deep curved sides and flat central area. The well is decorated with a three-quarter figure of a king wearing a crown and holding an orb and sceptre, with on each side of him, wavy leaf and almond-shaped chain motifs. All the motifs are edged with cream 'jewelling'. On the rim there is a continuous trellis border interrupted at the bottom by a panel bearing the slip-trailed name, RALPH SIMPSON'.

Notes

History note: Lady Harvey, 19 Marsefield Gardens, South Hampstead, N.W; on moving to Scotland, she sold her collection en bloc to Mr Stoner from whom her slipwares were bought for £650 on 17 June1912 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge.

Legal notes

Dr J. W. L. Glaisher Bequest

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 43.7 cm
Height: 6.2 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

17th Century, Late
Charles II
Circa 1661 - 1685

Note

The King was probably intended to be Charles II as the figure on a comparable dish by Thomas Toft is initialled ‘CR’.

School or Style

Baroque

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of slip ( dark ochre, dark brown and cream)
Front composed of lead-glaze ( yellowish)

Materials used in production

Earthenware

Techniques used in production

Throwing : Buff earthenware, thrown, the front coated with cream slip, slip-trailed in dark ochre and dark brown, and 'jewelled' in cream, under yellowish lead-glaze; the reverse is undecorated.

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: RALPH·SIMPSON
  • Location: On lower part of rim
  • Method of creation: Slip-trailed in dark brown
  • Type: Inscription

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.214-1928
Primary reference Number: 73157
Old object number: 3530

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 5 November 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "A King holding an Orb and Sceptre" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/73157 Accessed: 2025-12-05 12:57:43

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/73157 |title=A King holding an Orb and Sceptre |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 12:57:43|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-73157

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