Plate
Dateca. 1720
OriginEngland, London
MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft)
DimensionsD: 8 7/8"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1957-69
DescriptionShallow round plate without a foot ring. White tin glaze decorated in blue with a human faced lion standing in a hall. Concentric banding with a border of intertwined scallops.Label TextA 1641engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar depicting two lions holding up an orange tree was dedicated to William of Orange on the occasion of his marriage to Mary, daughter of James II, thus proclaiming William and Mary the lions of Holland and England. This gives credence to the suggestion that William III might have been represented symbolically as a man-faced lion during his lifetime and after his death. A lion with a human face is found on Dutch delft and Chinese porcelain made for the Dutch market. An unpublished example has the lion facing in the other direction. The London attribution for this plate is based on its shape.
Fragments of an English delft plate of this period depicting a lion (the face missing) have been excavated in Williamsburg (27AB.0276). Several plates with intertwined-scallop borders have been excavated at Limekiln Lane in Bristol and at the Prentis House-Russell House (17DA.0689), the Coke-Garrett House (27AB.0277), and Wetherburn's Tavern (9NA.1539) in Williamsburg.
InscribedNo
MarkingsNo
ProvenanceJoseph Vizcarra, Lombard, IL
