The Walk to Emmaus
Dish
1653 (made)
1653 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Large dishes of this type, often known by the quaint biblical name 'charger', were made primarily for decoration. This example is typical of the polychrome tin-glazed earthenware chargers made in London at this period.
Time
After the final defeat of the Royalists at the battle of Worcester in 1651, the young King, Charles II, fled to France and Oliver Cromwell ruled for the nine years of the Commonwealth. For most of the population, who remained more or less untouched by recent events, life continued as usual, but it was a joyless period. Cromwell banned the celebration of Christmas, there were wars with the Dutch and uncertainty about Cromwell's successor.
In this atmosphere, it is not so surprising that this delftware dish should have a date but not the initials of the man or couple who commissioned it. Although the limited range of oxide colours is inevitably bright, the serious subject suggests Puritan influence and personal initials may have been condemned as personal ostentation.
Large dishes of this type, often known by the quaint biblical name 'charger', were made primarily for decoration. This example is typical of the polychrome tin-glazed earthenware chargers made in London at this period.
Time
After the final defeat of the Royalists at the battle of Worcester in 1651, the young King, Charles II, fled to France and Oliver Cromwell ruled for the nine years of the Commonwealth. For most of the population, who remained more or less untouched by recent events, life continued as usual, but it was a joyless period. Cromwell banned the celebration of Christmas, there were wars with the Dutch and uncertainty about Cromwell's successor.
In this atmosphere, it is not so surprising that this delftware dish should have a date but not the initials of the man or couple who commissioned it. Although the limited range of oxide colours is inevitably bright, the serious subject suggests Puritan influence and personal initials may have been condemned as personal ostentation.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Walk to Emmaus (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Tin-glazed earthenware, painted in oxide colours |
| Brief description | Delftware dish painted with a scene of the Walk to Emmaus. British (Rotherhithe), 1653. |
| Physical description | Tin-glazed earthenware dish decorated with a scene from the walk to Emmaus. It shows Christ wlking between two men through a landscape with a river, trees, houses, plants, piles of stone and a bird overhead. Painted in blue, turquoise green, orange, ochre, brown and manganese-purple. at the top is the word 'GOD' amongst the clouds, and below is the date '1653'. The rim is blue with manganese-purple dashes. There are three stilt marks on the front (11/12 cms point to point). Body colour: Reddish buff with dark red streaks. Glaze: A dull white tin-glaze over a pale slip covers the entire back. The foot-rim has been partially wiped clean of glaze. Shape: Lipski D with a shallow groove just inside the rim rather than on it. Foot pierced with one hole before firing. (Alphabetic shape codes as used in appendix to Archer. Delftware. 1997) |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | British Galleries:
The design of this dish is copied from a print published in The Netherlands. The bible story tells how, after he rose from the dead, Christ accompanied two of his disciples to a village near Jerusalem and revealed his identity only when they got there. The dish therefore makes the important point for Christians of Christ's constant presence among his followers.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street |
| Object history | Acquired by the Museum of Practical Geology before 1871. Transferred, 1901. Historical significance: The design derives from a contemporary, probably Netherlandish, engraving. |
| Production | Fragments found in Rotherhithe precisely match features of the decoration of this dish. These consist of trefoil veined leaves like those to the right and left of the figures, a network of cross-hatching like that on the trunk of the left-hand tree and leaves like those growing on its branches. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type Large dishes of this type, often known by the quaint biblical name 'charger', were made primarily for decoration. This example is typical of the polychrome tin-glazed earthenware chargers made in London at this period. Time After the final defeat of the Royalists at the battle of Worcester in 1651, the young King, Charles II, fled to France and Oliver Cromwell ruled for the nine years of the Commonwealth. For most of the population, who remained more or less untouched by recent events, life continued as usual, but it was a joyless period. Cromwell banned the celebration of Christmas, there were wars with the Dutch and uncertainty about Cromwell's successor. In this atmosphere, it is not so surprising that this delftware dish should have a date but not the initials of the man or couple who commissioned it. Although the limited range of oxide colours is inevitably bright, the serious subject suggests Puritan influence and personal initials may have been condemned as personal ostentation. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | A55. - <u>Delftware</u> (1997) cat. no. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 3861-1901 |
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| Record created | June 23, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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