A large delftware Charger, painted with a stag in a landscape. Bristol or Liverpool, circa 1750-60
This large delftware charger is beautifully painted with a stag in a landscape. The wide, flattened border is painted with four European figures, the reverse with herbal sprigs and a leaf.
The painting, with its fauna, flora and figures in a landscape, is very much in the 17th-century Ming Transitional style, popular in China during the period 1620-83. The outer rim is painted with a red enamel line, in imitation of Chinese export porcelain of the 18th century.
In Chinese lore, the deer is traditionally a symbol for longevity and wealth and was believed to be the only animal able to find the magical fungus of immortality (lingzhi).
Condition: Excellent – no cracks or restoration, just typical losses to the fragile tin glaze around the edge. The thick glaze has a few pinholes from manufacture.
Dimensions: Diameter 36 cm
Delftware: The Tin-glazed Earthenware of the British Isles, Michael Archer (V&A/HMSO, 1997).
English Delftware, F.H. Garner and Michael Archer (Faber & Faber, 1972).