These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.
Download this imageCreative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.
Ewer Sacred to Neptune
Factory:
Wedgwood
Designer:
Flaxman, John, Sr.
Black basalt, moulded. Of antique ewer form standing on square plinth. The ewer for water (A) has with a triton holding the neck, a dolphin's head on the shoulder at the front, and on each side, a swag of aquatic leaves.The plinth is decorated with panels of interlacing branches. The plinth, foot and vase is held together by a rod, disk, and nut.
History note: Unknown before testator, Charles Brinsley Marlay (1831-1912)
C.B. Marlay Bequest
Base: 11.2 cm
Height: 40 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley
18th Century, Late
George III
Circa
1780
CE
-
1860
CE
The design for this ewer and its pair probably originated in a pair of plaster vases, one decorated with a triton and one with a satyr, symbolizing water and wine, exhibited at the Académie de Saint-Luc in Paris in 1774 by Sigisbert-François Michel (1728-1811), nephew of Claude Michel, known as Clodion (1738-1814). John Flaxman Senior (1726-95) provided designs and plaster models for the Wedgwood vases, and invoiced Josiah Wedgwood on 25 March, 1775 (CHECK is this 3 January 1775 the date given in VAM cat 1995) for 'A pair of Vases, one with a satyr & the other with a Triton Handle £3.3s.' (Wedgwood Archives, University of Keele, L1-204). The plasters are in the Wedgwood Archives. Flaxman's drawing for the ewer 'Sacred to Neptune' (Wedgwood Archives, no. 4548)
The form is no. 236 in the Wedgwood Shape Book (54.30019) where they were described as 'Marine & Satyr Handles & Ewer Sacred/to Neptune & Bacch-us'. They are also in the Shape Book water-marked 1794 rebound in 1916. They sold at 42/- ( 2 guineas) in black and 105/- (5 guineas) in jasper. They were still in production in 1878, see The Wedgwood Illustrated Catalogue of Ornamental Shapes 1878.
Moulding : The plinth, foot and vase is held together by a rod, disk and nut
Accession number: MAR.C.1A-1912
Primary reference Number: 11147
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Ewer Sacred to Neptune" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/11147 Accessed: 2024-12-22 19:40:39
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/11147
|title=Ewer Sacred to Neptune
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-22 19:40:39|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-11147
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa8/MAR_C_1A_1912_281_29.jpg"
alt="Ewer Sacred to Neptune"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Ewer Sacred to Neptune</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...
