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 imageCreative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.
The Widow of Zarephath
Production: Enoch Wood (Possibly)
Lead-glazed earthenware painted in enamels
Cream earthenware, press-moulded, lead-glazed, and painted in greyish-blue, green, yellow, flesh pink, purplish-pink, brown, greyish-brown, dark brown, and black enamels; the underside is open and glazed. The figure is supported on a shallow, straight-sided square base painted in greyish-blue, yellow, red, brown, and black to resemble marble, and has painted on the back edge 'Widow Serepla.' (sic) The widow is seated on a rocky mound with her right leg crossed over her left, leaning on her left arm (missing) on the top of a barrel beside her. She holds a cake in her right hand which rests on her knee. She wears a long white robe and a purplish-pink cloak with a yellow lining over her head and upper body, and has sandals with black straps on her feet. The mound is brown with green foliage sprouting from it, and the barrel is greyish-brown with dark brown bands at the top and bottom.
History note: A.G. Smith, 193 Wardour Street, London, from whom bought with a figure of Elijah for £6.10s.0d. on 27 February 1905 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge
Dr J. W. L. Glaisher Bequest
Height: 23 cm
Width: 10.4 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
1820s
George IV
Circa
1820
-
1830
This figure and its companion 'Elijah being fed by a Raven' (C.912B-1928) illustrate two consecutive incidents in the life of the Prophet Elijah which are described in the Bible, Kings 17: 1-7 and 10-16. In the first, Elijah was saved from starvation during a drought and famine by ravens which brought him food, and in the second he was taken in and fed by a poor widow in Zarephath. The marbled base of the figure and its pair are comparable to those of figures marked WOOD & CALDWELL. Compare these figurers with earlier versions C.881A-1928 and C.881B-1928, of which Elijah is marked 'Ra. Wood Burslem' for probably for Ralph Wood II (d. 1795).
Decoration
composed of
enamels
Surface
composed of
lead-glaze
Base
Depth 9 cm
Width 9 cm
Moulding : Earthenware, moulded, lead-glazed, and painted in enamels
Accession number: C.912A-1928
Primary reference Number: 76352
Old object number: 2346
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 (2024) "The Widow of Zarephath" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76352 Accessed: 2024-11-05 21:08:05
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/76352
|title=The Widow of Zarephath
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 21:08:05|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-76352
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_912A_1928_281_29.jpg"
alt="The Widow of Zarephath"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">The Widow of Zarephath</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...
