The Continence of Scipio

Dish
ca. 1620-1635 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Dish of tin-glazed earthenware, painted. The central image is of a man seated on a throne flanked by two martial figures. To the right there is a bending female figure with arms crossed (in supplication?). Behind her is a man and another is moving away to the right. On a pavement in the foreground there is a seated dog (?), and a kneeling woman places an elaborate casket, the lid of which is nearby, before the feet of the seated man. The scene is painted in blue, yellow, dull green and manganese-purple and is contained within semi-circular panels in blue. The border has ogival panels in blue with Chinese Wanli-derived decoration of birds and insects on rocks. Around them are cupids, animals, birds, grotesques and floral ornaments in similar colours to those used in the central scene. No obvious stilt marks. Body colour: Reddish buff.
Glaze: White. A lead-glaze and dull grey streaks of tin-glaze over a pale slip covers the entire back. The foot-rim has been wiped virtually entirely clean of glaze.
Shape: Lipski B with straight rim and vertical foot pierced with two holes before firing. (Alphabetic shape codes as used in appendix to Archer. Delftware. 1997)

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Continence of Scipio
Materials and techniques
Tin-glazed earthenware, painted
Brief description
Dish of tin-glazed earthenware, painted, possibly made at Montague Close or the Pickleherring pottery, Southwark, Montague Close or Pickleherring, ca.1620-1635.
Physical description
Dish of tin-glazed earthenware, painted. The central image is of a man seated on a throne flanked by two martial figures. To the right there is a bending female figure with arms crossed (in supplication?). Behind her is a man and another is moving away to the right. On a pavement in the foreground there is a seated dog (?), and a kneeling woman places an elaborate casket, the lid of which is nearby, before the feet of the seated man. The scene is painted in blue, yellow, dull green and manganese-purple and is contained within semi-circular panels in blue. The border has ogival panels in blue with Chinese Wanli-derived decoration of birds and insects on rocks. Around them are cupids, animals, birds, grotesques and floral ornaments in similar colours to those used in the central scene. No obvious stilt marks. Body colour: Reddish buff.
Glaze: White. A lead-glaze and dull grey streaks of tin-glaze over a pale slip covers the entire back. The foot-rim has been wiped virtually entirely clean of glaze.
Shape: Lipski B with straight rim and vertical foot pierced with two holes before firing. (Alphabetic shape codes as used in appendix to Archer. Delftware. 1997)
Dimensions
  • Height: 8.8cm
  • Diameter: 49cm
Height: 3 1/2 ins Diameter: 19 3/8 ins
Credit line
Presented by Art Fund
Object history
Purchased from Mr. J. Bissley, Chiswick, by the National Art Collections Fund and given, 1914.
Exhibited: Burlington Fine Arts Club, No: 11, Pl: XXV.

Historical significance: The variety of unrelated types of decoration on this dish is unusual even for the relaxed standards of English pot-painters. The central scene is probably meant to show the Continence of Scipio and must derive from a Netherlandish print source.
The grotesque decoration on the rim is a particularly unusual feature for English Delftware. Grotesque ornament was much used on Italian majolica, Italian potters brought this kind of decoration to the Netherlands and it was disseminated through the prints of of artists such as Cornelis Bos (ca.1510-56) and Cornelius Floris (1514-75).
Production
Made at either the Montague Close or the Pickleherring pottery.
This dish is difficult to date because it is so unusual to find such a mixture of styles in one piece. However, the decorative panels with 'birds-on-rocks' and foliage, fruit and flowers suggest a date of ca.1620 - 1630, indiacting a Southwark attribution.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Archer, Michael. Delftware: The Tin-Glazed Earthenware of the British Isles. A Catalogue of the Collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: The Stationery Office, 1997. pp.99-100, Cat. No.A.50. ISBN 0 11 290499 8
  • Rackham and Read, p.48.
  • Garner and Archer, p.8, Pl:9.
  • Warren, p.17, Pl:III.
  • G. Bernard Rackham, 'The Virtues of English Pottery', E.C.C. Trans, Vol:2, No:7, 1939, p.106.
  • Honey, pp.38-9
  • Tait, Part II, p.28, Fig:36.
Other number
A50. - <u>Delftware</u> (1997) cat. no.
Collection
Accession number
C.106-1914

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Record createdJune 23, 1998
Record URL
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