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Fable Candlestick: the Vain Jackdaw: C.84-1932

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An image of Candlestick
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Current Location: In storage

Titles

Fable Candlestick: the Vain Jackdaw

Maker(s)

Factory: Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory

Entities

Categories

Description

Soft-paste porcelain Fable Candlestick, slip-cast and hand modelled, painted over lead-glaze in blue, green, yellow, puce, red, reddish-brown, and grey enamels, and gilt

Soft-paste porcelain Fable Candlestick, slip-cast and hand modelled, painted over lead-glaze in blue, green, yellow, puce, red, reddish-brown, and grey enamels, and gilt. The underside is glazed and has a large ventilation whole near the back. The shaped base has scrolls round the front edge, and is supported on two scroll feet at the sides and one at centre back. At the back there is a small loop handle attached to the tree trunk, on each side of which at the front there is bocage with clusters of small white May flowers, and a few larger red and puce flowers. In front of the tee stands a peacock facing to the viewer's left, with another in front of it on the ground to the left, looking towards and pecking at the jackdaw in peacock's plumage which is also on the ground. There are a few applied flowers and leaves on top of the base. the scrolls on the edge are picked out in gold.

Notes

History note: Unknown before donor, Mrs W.D. (Frances Louisa) Dickson, Bournemouth

Legal notes

Given by Mrs W.D. Dickson

Measurements and weight

Height: 18 cm
Width: 15 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1932) by Dickson, W. D. (Frances Louisa), Mrs

Dating

Gold anchor period (1759-69)
18th Century, second half
George III
Circa 1765 CE - 1770 CE

Note

The source of the design was the engraving illustrating Fable 47, The Jay and the Peacock on p. 95 of Francis Barlow's Aesop's Fables, London, 1665.

School or Style

Rococo

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels ( blue, green, yellow, puce, red, reddish-brown, and grey) gold
Details

Materials used in production

presumed lead Lead-glaze
Soft-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Slip-casting : Soft-paste porcelain, slip-cast and hand modelled, painted over lead-glaze in blue, green, yellow, puce, red, reddish-brown, and grey enamels, and gilt
Lead-glazing

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.84-1932
Primary reference Number: 76211

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 11 November 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) "Fable Candlestick: the Vain Jackdaw" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76211 Accessed: 2025-12-05 06:46:51

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76211 |title=Fable Candlestick: the Vain Jackdaw |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 06:46:51|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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