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The Royal Arms of England
Production: Taft, Thomas
Earthenware dish decorated in cream, dark ochre and brown slips with the Royal Arms, the name THOMAS TAFT, and a border of interlacing wavy lines, and lead-glazed
Pale red earthenware, the front coated in cream slip, and slip trailed in dark ochre and brown, with outlines 'jewelled' with spots of cream, under yellowish lead-glaze. Circular with a narrow concave rim, deep curved sides and flat centre. The reverse is undecorated. The well is occupied by the Royal Arms (incorrectly rendered), with lion and unicorn supporters, and above, a crowned helmet, a lion, and mantling, with the initials C R below. The rim is decorated with a border of interlacing wavy lines.
History note: A lady in the West of England; Cyril Andrade; Frank Partridge, London, from whom purchased at Cambridge for £803 on 25 May 1924 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge
Dr J. W. L. Glaisher Bequest
Diameter: 50.5 cm
Height: 8.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
17th Century, Late
Charles II
Circa
1670
-
1685
The name Thomas Taft, might be an error for Thomas Toft. However, the representation of the Royal Arms differs from eight dishes of this subject signed THOMAS TOFT, in not having the garter with HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE around the arms, nor the royal motto, DIEU ET MON DROIT below. The profile of the dish differs from the other dishes, as does the border pattern. See Fitzwilliam Museum C.208-1928 for a typical example with a trellis border. Only two of the dishes, at Waddesdon Manor, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, have almost correct representations of the Royal Arms as it was during the seventeenth century before 1689 (the year that Thomas Toft died); on the others the first and fourth quarters are simplified with respectively three lions passant gardant, and three fleurs-de-lys (four on this dish).The initials CR for Carolus Rex, indicate that the dishes were made during the reign of Charles II (1660-85). The example in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, is dated 1671, but the differences between this dish and the others suggests that it is likely to have been later than that. and might have been copied from one of the others, perhaps by Thomas Toft's son, Thomas (1670-1703). A smaller dish in the Fitzwilliam, has a similar profile, and a comparable border surrounding a crowned King's head, and was therefore probably before 1702, when Queen Anne came to the throne (C.221-1928).
Front
composed of
slip
( dark ochre, brown, and cream or white)
Front Surface
composed of
lead-glaze
( yellowish)
Decoration
pale red Earthenware
Throwing (pottery technique) : Pale red earthenware, the front coated in cream slip, and slip trailed in dark ochre and brown, with outlines 'jewelled' with spots of cream, under yellowish lead-glaze
Inscription present: rectangular white paper stick on label with cut corners and a blue-black line round the edges
Inscription present: circular white paper stick on label with the wording printed round the outer edge and the number hand-written in the middle
Accession number: C.209-1928
Primary reference Number: 73095
Old object number: 4990
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) "The Royal Arms of England" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/73095 Accessed: 2025-04-18 06:57:17
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/73095
|title=The Royal Arms of England
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-04-18 06:57:17|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-73095
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/aa7/C_209_1928_281_29.jpg"
alt="The Royal Arms of England"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">The Royal Arms of England</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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