Lot Essay
There are currently only two other known similar bowls of this type. A polychrome example inscribed TO THE GLORIOUS, INCERTAINTY, OF THE LAW (sic). was sold in these Rooms 29 January 1979, lot 36 and a blue and white example inscribed THE LAWYER'S COAT OF ARMS is in the Schreiber Collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum; see Bernard Rackham Catalogue of the Schreiber Collection, Vol. II, Earthenwares (1930), pl. 3, no. 19 and Michael Archer, Delftware, The Tin-Glazed Earthenware of the British Isles (1997), pp. 302 and 303.
While the meaning of this pseudo-armorial bowl is not totally clear, it is probably simply intended as a satire on the practice of English Law in the mid-18th Century, particularly in relation to matters of property or tenure.
While the meaning of this pseudo-armorial bowl is not totally clear, it is probably simply intended as a satire on the practice of English Law in the mid-18th Century, particularly in relation to matters of property or tenure.