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Lion spill-vase (facing left)
Production: Unidentified factory (Perhaps Dudson?)
White earthenware moulded in several parts with small shards of clay added, and lead-glazed. Painted in black, brown, green, yellow, pink and orange enamels, and gilt.
The lion stands with head to the left and facing forwards, on rocky ground and leaning against a tree trunk which is open at the top to form a spill-vase. The lion’s tail runs down its left hind leg, which is raised slightly above the base. The figure is well coloured. The lion’s back is green-brown and its mane red-brown; its eyes are outlined in black and its eyebrows, muzzle and paws are also black. The ground is painted in patches of yellow, green and brown; the tree trunk is brown with a green climbing plant and two branch stubs edged with shards of clay. The inside of the vase is orange. The long oval base is wavy to the front, which bears a gilt line. The underside is concave and glazed. The back is flat, though with some moulded shape.
History note: From the collection of the late Colonel R.G.Turner.
Depth: 5 cm
Depth: 2 in
Height: 15.6 cm
Height: 6.125 in
Width: 11.3 cm
Width: 4.5 in
Method of acquisition: Given (1984) by Cameron, J.E., Mrs
19th Century, Mid#
Victorian
Circa
1850
CE
-
Circa
1865
CE
James Dudson at Hanley made a large number of animal figures in the 1830s-40s; from around 1850 until 1865 they made flat-backed figures. The quality of painting on these lions, the outlining of the eyes, and the markings on the flat-backs suggest that they could perhaps be Dudson figures. But there were many other manufacturers of figures working in Staffordshire at this time.
This animal figure is a pair, its companion being a right-facing lion with spill-vase, which is also in the Fitzwilliam collection. Spill vases held tightly rolled scraps of newspaper. They were kept on the mantle-shelf to light the fire, as matches were expensive.
Decoration composed of enamels ( black, brown, green, yellow, pink and orange) gold
Press-moulding
: White earthenware moulded in several parts with small shards of clay added, and lead-glazed. Painted in black, brown, green, yellow, pink and orange enamels, and gilt. The underside is concave and glazed. The back is flat, though with some moulded shape.
Lead-glazing
Accession number: C.868A-1984
Primary reference Number: 76250
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 (2024) "Lion spill-vase (facing left)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76250 Accessed: 2024-11-18 00:24:32
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/76250
|title=Lion spill-vase (facing left)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-18 00:24:32|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-76250
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/aa2/C_868B_1984_281_29.jpg"
alt="Lion spill-vase (facing left)"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Lion spill-vase (facing left)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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