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Production:
Bristol Pottery
Decorator:
Fifield, William
(Probably)
Lead-glazed earthenware barrel painted in polychrome enamels with flowers and foliage and the initials E G in script
White earthenware, with slightly blue-tinted lead-glaze, painted in blue, green, yellow, pink, red, purple, and dark brown enamels. The barrel is recessed at the top and base and has horizontal bands of reeding above and below the central zone. On one side it has a projecting rim surrounding a bung hole. The top and base have concentric circles of blue, brown and pink. The reeding is decorated with narrow brown horizontal bands separating wider areas of pink, blue and pink. The central zone is painted with two floral arrangements, comprising pink roses, a tulip, and other flowers and leaves. The initials E and G in elaborate script lettering are placed on either side of the bung hole.
History note: Sotheby's, 30 November, 1928, lot 13.
Dr J. W. L. Glaisher Bequest
Diameter: 11.7 cm
Height: 13.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
18th Century, second quarter#
1835
CE
-
1840
CE
Barrels like this are sometimes inscribed Gin or Rum, but they could have held other liquors. On accession this was described as a scent barrel, but that seems an unlikely use on account of its size. The enamel round the bung hole is still in pristine condition, which suggests that it may not have been used for long before becoming an ornament.
Decoration
blue, green, yellow, pink, red, purple, and dark brown
Enamel
very slightly blue tinted
Lead-glaze
white
Earthenware
Inscription present: script letters
Accession number: C.1116-1928
Primary reference Number: 71339
Old object number: R.2083
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) "Spirit barrel" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/71339 Accessed: 2024-11-25 08:14:10
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/71339
|title=Spirit barrel
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-25 08:14:10|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-71339
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/aa2/C_1116_1928_281_29.jpg"
alt="Spirit barrel"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Spirit barrel</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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