Skip to main content

Lion spill-vase (facing left): C.868A-1984

An image of Animal figure

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 27 (Glaisher)

Titles

Lion spill-vase (facing left)

Maker(s)

Production: Unidentified factory (Perhaps Dudson?)

Entities

Categories

Description

White earthenware moulded in several parts with small shards of clay added, and lead-glazed. Painted in black, brown, green, yellow, pink and orange enamels, and gilt.

The lion stands with head to the left and facing forwards, on rocky ground and leaning against a tree trunk which is open at the top to form a spill-vase. The lion’s tail runs down its left hind leg, which is raised slightly above the base. The figure is well coloured. The lion’s back is green-brown and its mane red-brown; its eyes are outlined in black and its eyebrows, muzzle and paws are also black. The ground is painted in patches of yellow, green and brown; the tree trunk is brown with a green climbing plant and two branch stubs edged with shards of clay. The inside of the vase is orange. The long oval base is wavy to the front, which bears a gilt line. The underside is concave and glazed. The back is flat, though with some moulded shape.

Notes

History note: From the collection of the late Colonel R.G.Turner.

Measurements and weight

Depth: 5 cm
Depth: 2 in
Height: 15.6 cm
Height: 6.125 in
Width: 11.3 cm
Width: 4.5 in

Relative size of this object

11.3 cm6.1 cm5 cm What does this represent?

Relative size of this object is displayed using code inspired by Good Form and Spectacle's work on the British Museum's Waddeson Bequest website and their dimension drawer. They chose a tennis ball to represent a universally sized object, from which you could envisage the size of an object.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1984) by Cameron, J.E., Mrs

Dating

Mid 19th century
Victorian
Circa 1850 CE - Circa 1865 CE

Note

James Dudson at Hanley made a large number of animal figures in the 1830s-40s; from around 1850 until 1865 they made flat-backed figures. The quality of painting on these lions, the outlining of the eyes, and the markings on the flat-backs suggest that they could perhaps be Dudson figures. But there were many other manufacturers of figures working in Staffordshire at this time.

This animal figure is a pair, its companion being a right-facing lion with spill-vase, which is also in the Fitzwilliam collection. Spill vases held tightly rolled scraps of newspaper. They were kept on the mantle-shelf to light the fire, as matches were expensive.

School or Style

Victorian

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels ( black, brown, green, yellow, pink and orange) gold

Materials used in production

White earthenware
Lead-glaze

Techniques used in production

Press-moulding : White earthenware moulded in several parts with small shards of clay added, and lead-glazed. Painted in black, brown, green, yellow, pink and orange enamels, and gilt. The underside is concave and glazed. The back is flat, though with some moulded shape.
Lead-glazing

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.868A-1984
Primary reference Number: 76250
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 16 January 2018 Last processed: Sunday 21 March 2021

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 (2023) "Lion spill-vase (facing left)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76250 Accessed: 2023-05-31 05:59:28

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76250 |title=Lion spill-vase (facing left) |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2023-05-31 05:59:28|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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-76250

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

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_868B_1984_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Lion spill-vase (facing left)"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Lion spill-vase (facing left)</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

Please enter your name as you would like to be addressed
Please enter your email address
The object accession number - this is prefilled
Please enter your query with as much detail as possible

More objects and works of art you might like

Spill vase

Accession Number: C.26-1985

Lion spill-vases (pair)

Accession Number: C.868A & B-1984

Spill vase

Accession Number: C.1763B-1928

Spill vase

Accession Number: C.1763A-1928

Suggested products from Curating Cambridge

You might be interested in this...

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...