Saucer

Date1752-1758

Artist/Maker Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (1745-1769)

MediumSoft-paste porcelain

DimensionsDia: 5 13/16"; H: 1 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1962-48

DescriptionOctagonal saucer with brown line around edge, large and small flowers hiding glaze imperfections around rim, and in the center, surrounded by a double lined circle, purple outside and red inside, painted in overglaze enamels, a scene from the fable "The Old Hound" composed from Francis Barlow's fable number 62. In the foreground is a man beating a spotted dog, in middle ground dogs swimming and chasing deer, and in the background purple and blue mountains and clouds.

Red anchor period.
Label TextDecorated with the Aesop fable "The Old Hound," the design is encircled by a purple and a red band. One author believes that the design source for this saucer was Barlow's plate 62, but if it is, the artist took only the subject matter from the print--that is, a man raising a stick to a dog, with a deer and dogs in the landscape. The position of the man is reversed and greatly altered and his costume is of a different period. Also, there is no similarity in the two dogs or the landscapes.
InscribedNo
MarkingsNo
ProvenanceEx coll: Bellamy Gardner, London; M. G. Kaufman, Chicago