Staffordshire figure, Moses holding the tablets of the law

An image of Watch stand/flat-backed figure. Moses holding the tablets of the law. Unidentified factory, England, Staffordshire. The oval base has a chamfered top edge to the front, on which ‘MOSES’ is inscribed in relief, black script capitals, above a gilt line. Moses sits above the watch opening, which is encircled by a spray of green leaves and blue flowers. His left hand supports the tablets of the law. A black staff rests against his right shoulder. The figure is well coloured. Moses wears a pink robe, a yellow skirt decorated with tiny, red, brown and blue flower sprigs, and an orange belt. His hair and beard are long and grey; his feet are bare. The figure is framed by three flame-like green leaves on each side, which curl up from the bottom. White earthenware moulded in three parts, with 5cm diameter circular hole containing a separately moulded half-bowl to the front, and pearlware glazed. Painted with black, grey, green, blue, red, pink, orange and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt. The base is concave and glazed. Only the back of Moses is moulded; there is a vent hole 14.5cm from the bottom. Height 31 cm, width 13 cm, depth 7.5 cm, circa 1860-circa 1875. Victorian.

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Watch stand/flat-backed figure. Moses holding the tablets of the law. Unidentified factory, England, Staffordshire. The oval base has a chamfered top edge to the front, on which ‘MOSES’ is inscribed in relief, black script capitals, above a gilt line. Moses sits above the watch opening, which is encircled by a spray of green leaves and blue flowers. His left hand supports the tablets of the law. A black staff rests against his right shoulder. The figure is well coloured. Moses wears a pink robe, a yellow skirt decorated with tiny, red, brown and blue flower sprigs, and an orange belt. His hair and beard are long and grey; his feet are bare. The figure is framed by three flame-like green leaves on each side, which curl up from the bottom. White earthenware moulded in three parts, with 5cm diameter circular hole containing a separately moulded half-bowl to the front, and pearlware glazed. Painted with black, grey, green, blue, red, pink, orange and flesh-pink enamels, and gilt. The base is concave and glazed. Only the back of Moses is moulded; there is a vent hole 14.5cm from the bottom. Height 31 cm, width 13 cm, depth 7.5 cm, circa 1860-circa 1875. Victorian.

Image data

Accession Number: C.1018-1928
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/22.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H3DII-31
Photographer name: Michael Jones
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 698 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)
Filesize: 175.16kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 22/1

Key words

19th Century bearded beards biblical British earthenware enamel enamelled English exodus figure Fitz_AA flat-backed figure gilded gilt glazed green laws leaves Moses moulded Mount Sinai Old Testament pearlware pink pottery religion religious rosy cheeks Staffordshire Pottery staffs tablets Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments Victorian watch stand

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025)
            "Staffordshire figure, Moses holding the tablets of the law"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-1660263647 Accessed: 2025-12-06 04:08:36

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            |title=Staffordshire figure, Moses holding the tablets of the law
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-06 04:08:36|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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