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Lot Essay
A vase painted with a version of this subject is illustrated by Margaret Legge, Flowers and Fables, A Survey of Chelsea Porcelain 1745-69 (Melbourne, 1984) pl. 94. A teapot, similarly decorated, was sold in these Rooms, 7 October 1996, lot 159 and a dish, with the subject in reverse, was sold at Sotheby's, 15 April 1997, lot 201.
The source for this subject would appear to be Aesop's Fables illustrated by Francis Barlow (first published London, 1666), Fable number XXXI, 'The Tygre and the Fox'. Fable number 246 in Aesop's Fables, A New Translation by Laura Gibbs (Oxford, 2002) translates the 'tyger' as a lion:
'A man who was an experienced shot with the bow and arrow went up on the mountain to hunt. All the animals fled from him in fear, except for the lion, who challenged the man to a battle. 'Wait!' the man said to the lion. 'Do not be so quick to think you can defeat me. First you need to get to know my messenger, and then you'll be able to choose the best course to follow'. Standing at some distance from the lion, the archer let loose an arrow and the barb buried itself in the soft flesh of the lion's belly. The lion was terrified and fled into the deserted forest glades. A fox standing nearby urged the lion to be brave and stand his ground, but the lion replied, 'You are not going to fool me or catch me in your grasp; when he sends me such a pointed messenger as this, I already know what a fearful person he himself must be.'
The source for this subject would appear to be Aesop's Fables illustrated by Francis Barlow (first published London, 1666), Fable number XXXI, 'The Tygre and the Fox'. Fable number 246 in Aesop's Fables, A New Translation by Laura Gibbs (Oxford, 2002) translates the 'tyger' as a lion:
'A man who was an experienced shot with the bow and arrow went up on the mountain to hunt. All the animals fled from him in fear, except for the lion, who challenged the man to a battle. 'Wait!' the man said to the lion. 'Do not be so quick to think you can defeat me. First you need to get to know my messenger, and then you'll be able to choose the best course to follow'. Standing at some distance from the lion, the archer let loose an arrow and the barb buried itself in the soft flesh of the lion's belly. The lion was terrified and fled into the deserted forest glades. A fox standing nearby urged the lion to be brave and stand his ground, but the lion replied, 'You are not going to fool me or catch me in your grasp; when he sends me such a pointed messenger as this, I already know what a fearful person he himself must be.'