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L'Arbre d'Amour: C.2317-1928

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Current Location: In storage

Titles

L'Arbre d'Amour
Translated as: The Tree of Love

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Salad bowl of tin-glazed earthenware (faïence) painted in polychrome with Cupid standing on a tree in which several men have taken refuge from a group of women who are trying to get them down.

Earthenware, moulded, tin-glazed, and painted in blue, green, yellow, orange, and black. Circular with a crinkled edge, deep curved sides obliquely fluted, standing on a footring. Decorated with' L'Arbre d'Amour'. Cupid, holding a bow and arrow, stands on top of a tree in which seven men have taken refuge from a group of eight women who are trying to tempt them down. Two of the women are sawing down the tree, and to its right are the words, 'courage/margot/nous auron/piece ou/morceau'. A woman on the left holds up an axe and is captioned 'la bien frisé(?)/frape avec/sa cognée'.Another holds up a hat on pole, and is captioned, 'la belle Izabeau/luy presente un/beau chapeau', and below her is the name, 'louis dupuis'. Further back, a woman holds up a flask and is captioned 'la belle catin/une caraffe/de vin'. On the right a woman climbs up a ladder propped against the treetrunk to offer a box to a man in the tree, captioned on the extreme right 'Mr lagreables/ maniere recevez/cette tabatiere'. Another holds up a cane, and is captioned 'la belle Suzanne luy presente/une canne', and a third tries to drag a man from the tree by a rope, and is captioned 'fanchon avec/son cordeau tire/ce gros badeau'. Round the rim are two lines of inscription. The outer line reads: 'belle quittez moy ces amants qui ne sont pour vous que de glace denichez les de sur cette arbre cessez de leur faire des present coupez moy larbre par le tronc et moquez vous de leurs audace faite les tombe sur la place sont des laches et des poltrons'. The inner line reads: 'mes dame nous allons tous descendre Appaizez tous vostre furerur nous vous allons donn nos coeurs que voulez vous donc entre pre(n)dre allons descendez chers amants et ne soyez plus rebelle vous serez cheris tenrement de vos maitresse fidelle'

Notes

History note: Purchased from Vaumousse, Rouen for 95 francs in April 1901 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 8.3 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

18th Century, Mid
Louis XV
Production date: AD 1739 : dated

Note

This was a popular subject which was reproduced with the verses in the 18th and first half of the 19th century. The scene on this bowl is quite close to a print published in Lyons in the mid 18th century which was illustrated by Duchartre and Saulnier (see Documentation), although the image on the bowl is transposed and has an additional woman on each side of the tree. There are several early 19th century prints in the Musée national des arts et traditions populaires, Paris, which show the men and women in contemporary dress. The text differs from bowl to bowl, Duchartre and Saulnier cite one version, differing from the inscription on this bowl. An example of 1798 is in the Musée de la Céramique et Beaux-Arts, Nevers (inv. NF 800)

School or Style

Rococo

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of high-temperature colours ( blue, green, yellow, orange, and black)
Rim Diameter 33.3 cm

Materials used in production

Tin-glaze
Earthenware

Techniques used in production

Moulding : Earthenware, moulded, tin-glazed, and painted in blue, green, yellow, orange, and black.
Tin-glazing

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: belle quittez moy ces amants qui ne sont pour vous que de glace denichez les de sur cette arbre cessez de leur faire des present coupez moy larbre par le tronc et moquez vous de leurs audace faite les tombe sur la place sont des laches et des poltrons
  • Location: Outer line of border
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: mes dame nous allons tous descendre Appaizez tous vostre furerur nous vous allons donn nos coeurs que voulez vous donc entre pre(n)dre allons descendez chers amants et ne soyez plus rebelle vous serez cheris tenrement de vos maitresse fidelle'
  • Location: Inner line of border
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: courage/margot/nous auron/piece ou/morceau
  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: la bien frisé(?)/frape avec/sa cognée
  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription

Inscription present: la belle catin/une caraffe/de vin

  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: a belle Izabeau/luy presente un/beau chapeau
  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: louis dupuis
  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription

Inscription present: 'Mr lagreables/ maniere recevez/cette tabatiere

  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: la belle Suzanne luy presente/une canne
  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: fanchon avec/son cordeau tire/ce gros badeau'.
  • Location: Inside
  • Method of creation: Painted
  • Type: Inscription

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.2317-1928
Primary reference Number: 73341
Old object number: 1192

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 9 September 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "L'Arbre d'Amour" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/73341 Accessed: 2025-12-05 09:48:12

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/73341 |title=L'Arbre d'Amour |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 09:48:12|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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