Cistern
ca. 1530 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This is probably the only hot water cistern to survive from the Tudor period. It nevertheless demonstrates the level of sophistication to which the court and nobility of Tudor England aspired.
People
The Tudors, as fairly recent upstarts, took an almost obsessive interest in their ancestry and their claims to the English throne, allowing their coat of arms to be used in a wide variety of decorative contexts. Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) in particular was fired with ambition to raise the status of the English monarchy. He wished to be wholly identified with his people, and latterly with the Protestant cause in its struggle with Roman Catholicism and the Holy Roman Empire.
Ownership & Use
By about 1500 the wood-fired ceramic stove was widely used in Northern Europe. Built up entirely from deep concave moulded tiles, with both stoke-hole and flue outside the room, such stoves were clean in use. They were eminently suitable for application to a heated bath chamber, such as that excavated at the Tudor palace of Whitehall in London. Though also capable of providing hot water in cisterns, which, like this example, clearly formed an integral part of the stove, they never became popular. The technique of making moulded tiles, probably introduced by German potters working on the Surrey-Hampshire borders, did not take root in England. Despite their manifest disadvantages, open fires continued to be favoured.
This is probably the only hot water cistern to survive from the Tudor period. It nevertheless demonstrates the level of sophistication to which the court and nobility of Tudor England aspired.
People
The Tudors, as fairly recent upstarts, took an almost obsessive interest in their ancestry and their claims to the English throne, allowing their coat of arms to be used in a wide variety of decorative contexts. Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) in particular was fired with ambition to raise the status of the English monarchy. He wished to be wholly identified with his people, and latterly with the Protestant cause in its struggle with Roman Catholicism and the Holy Roman Empire.
Ownership & Use
By about 1500 the wood-fired ceramic stove was widely used in Northern Europe. Built up entirely from deep concave moulded tiles, with both stoke-hole and flue outside the room, such stoves were clean in use. They were eminently suitable for application to a heated bath chamber, such as that excavated at the Tudor palace of Whitehall in London. Though also capable of providing hot water in cisterns, which, like this example, clearly formed an integral part of the stove, they never became popular. The technique of making moulded tiles, probably introduced by German potters working on the Surrey-Hampshire borders, did not take root in England. Despite their manifest disadvantages, open fires continued to be favoured.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | White earthenware, moulded in relief, with copper-green lead glaze |
| Brief description | Cistern, white earthenware moulded in relief with copper-green lead glaze, England, ca.1530 |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Bearing the arms of Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York, the initials HR and ER and the royal motto 'DIEU ET MON DROIT' (God and my right); possibly made for one of the royal palaces |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Sir Henry Harris KBE |
| Object history | Possibly made for one of the royal palaces Made on the Surrey/Hampshire borders |
| Summary | Object Type This is probably the only hot water cistern to survive from the Tudor period. It nevertheless demonstrates the level of sophistication to which the court and nobility of Tudor England aspired. People The Tudors, as fairly recent upstarts, took an almost obsessive interest in their ancestry and their claims to the English throne, allowing their coat of arms to be used in a wide variety of decorative contexts. Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) in particular was fired with ambition to raise the status of the English monarchy. He wished to be wholly identified with his people, and latterly with the Protestant cause in its struggle with Roman Catholicism and the Holy Roman Empire. Ownership & Use By about 1500 the wood-fired ceramic stove was widely used in Northern Europe. Built up entirely from deep concave moulded tiles, with both stoke-hole and flue outside the room, such stoves were clean in use. They were eminently suitable for application to a heated bath chamber, such as that excavated at the Tudor palace of Whitehall in London. Though also capable of providing hot water in cisterns, which, like this example, clearly formed an integral part of the stove, they never became popular. The technique of making moulded tiles, probably introduced by German potters working on the Surrey-Hampshire borders, did not take root in England. Despite their manifest disadvantages, open fires continued to be favoured. |
| Bibliographic reference | Young, Hilary, 'The Birth of the Ceramic Designer' in Walford, Tom and Hilary Young British Ceramic Design, 1600-2002: Papers presented at the colloquium celebrating the 75th anniversary of the English Ceramic Circle, 1927-2002. 2003, p. 18, fig. 5 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.85-1933 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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