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Faith or Religion
Production: uncertain (Possibly)
Buff earthenware, moulded, and decorated with blue, yellow, mulberry (manganese), and transparent lead-glazes. The figure is supported on a shallow circular blue base. The saint or allegorical figure, steps forward on her left foot, looking downwards slightly towards an open book held in her left hand. Her right hand she holds a purse-like socket for the insertion of an attribute, possibly a palm, now missing. She wears a greyish-blue veil, a long dark mulberry-coloured robe and shoes, a dull yellow belt, a long blue cloak.
History note: Prince Pierre Soltykoff ; sold Paris, Hôtel Drouot, (Roussel, Caran and Juste) 8 April - 1 May, 1861, Objets d'art et de haute curiosité composant la célèbre collection de Prince Soltykoff, lot 635. Dr Hugh Playfair, 7 Upper Brook Street, London; sold Sotheby's, 4 May 1928, Pottery, Porcelain and Glass, Pictures and Furniture, lot 42; purchased for £27 by Mr Rochelle Thomas for Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, Trinity College, Cambridge
Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest
Height: 21.7 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
17th Century, Early
Circa
1600
CE
-
1630
CE
When purchased by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher the figure was described as 'a rare Palissy figure of a female Saint'. It is now considered to have been made after his death by potters working near Fontainebleau, in Paris, or possibly in Rouen. The figure holds a book which was an attribute of St Catherine of Alexandria, and could have held a martyrs palm in the other hand, but it is also reminiscent of the representation of Religion on p. 456 of the illustrated edition of Cesare Ripa's 'Iconologia' published in Rome in 1603, although it holds a book in its left hand instead of flames signifying devotion.
Visible Surfaces
composed of
lead-glaze
( clear, and coloured blue, yellow, manganese)
Colourant
composed of
manganese
cobalt-blue
Decoration
Moulding : Buff earthenware, moulded, and decorated with clear, and translucent blue, yellow, and manganese glazes
Accession number: C.1811-1928
Primary reference Number: 72673
Old object number: 5022
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 (2025) "Faith or Religion" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/72673 Accessed: 2025-07-08 00:23:44
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/72673
|title=Faith or Religion
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-07-08 00:23:44|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-72673
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/aa11/C_1811_1928_281_29.jpg"
alt="Faith or Religion"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Faith or Religion</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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