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Lot Essay
The distinctive form of the dish is described in the factory inventories as 'clapmash' from the Dutch Klapmuts, a sailor's hat with a rounded crown and a flat brim, see Frank Britton, 'Delftware Inventories', English Ceramic Circle Transactions, Vol. 15, Part I, 1993, pp. 59-64.
The late Frank Britton, with his customary diligence, researched the history of John Ayres. Ayres was born in 1588 and apprenticed in the Drapers' Company in 1604 becoming Free in 1614 but was never elected to the Livery. He worked as a tailor in Aldermanbury in the City, his first wife died in the plague of 1625 and he married secondly Margaret Wooldham of St. Olave's in 1627 in Southwark. Between 1613-1647 he appears to have had a flourishing business as he took nine apprentices, paying quarterage up to 1636. He died intestate in 1642 and the administration of his estate was made to his creditors. Britton suggested that there is a strong possibility that Ayres's business declined in 1636 and he had to retire in 1637. It is possible that this dish was made locally at Southwark as a retirement gift. Louis L. Lipski and Michael Archer, Dated English Delftware, London, 1984, p. 19, no. 10 illustrate the equestrian charger of 1637 in the Glaisher Collection, almost certainly painted by the same hand with a similarly dappled horse to the present lot; this dish is similarly inscribed to the reverse with the monogram I.L. It therefore seems possible that these could be the initials of the painter and on the present dish the IK could be that of the painter of the border, for which see Louis L. Lipski and Michael Archer ibid., p. 27, no. 46. See also Michael Archer and Brian Morgan, Fair as China Dishes, Washington, D.C., 1977, p. 16 & 17, pl. 5, no. 3 for a blue and white apothecary jar with similar foliage and gadrooned lappet decoration.
Saint George was a Christian martyr who was born in Palastine in the late 3rd century AD. He was of great importance to the English Crusaders who occupied Lydda, his traditional birthplace, in the 11th and 12th centuries. Tales of his heroism were recorded in the Legenda Sanctorum by Jacobus de Voragine in the mid 13th century and were spread more widely by William Caxton in the late 15th century. The warrior saint is said to have slain a dragon outside the walls of Silene in order to rescue the king's daughter, who was being offered as a sacrifice. St. George protected himself with the sign of the cross and his victory over the Dragon lead to the conversion of the city, hence the tale is used as an allegory of Christianity's triumph over paganism.
The current dish is most likely taken from Lucas Vosterman the Elder's engraving of Raphael's painting of Saint George. The original was commissioned in 1505 by the Duke of Urbino, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. Traditionally it is thought that the Duke ordered the painting as a gift for Henry VII of England in gratitude to the King for bestowing upon him the Order of the Garter; St. George and the Dragon being the badge of the Order. By the time the Vosterman print was made in 1627, the painting had passed into the possession of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and the print is dedicated to him.
The late Frank Britton, with his customary diligence, researched the history of John Ayres. Ayres was born in 1588 and apprenticed in the Drapers' Company in 1604 becoming Free in 1614 but was never elected to the Livery. He worked as a tailor in Aldermanbury in the City, his first wife died in the plague of 1625 and he married secondly Margaret Wooldham of St. Olave's in 1627 in Southwark. Between 1613-1647 he appears to have had a flourishing business as he took nine apprentices, paying quarterage up to 1636. He died intestate in 1642 and the administration of his estate was made to his creditors. Britton suggested that there is a strong possibility that Ayres's business declined in 1636 and he had to retire in 1637. It is possible that this dish was made locally at Southwark as a retirement gift. Louis L. Lipski and Michael Archer, Dated English Delftware, London, 1984, p. 19, no. 10 illustrate the equestrian charger of 1637 in the Glaisher Collection, almost certainly painted by the same hand with a similarly dappled horse to the present lot; this dish is similarly inscribed to the reverse with the monogram I.L. It therefore seems possible that these could be the initials of the painter and on the present dish the IK could be that of the painter of the border, for which see Louis L. Lipski and Michael Archer ibid., p. 27, no. 46. See also Michael Archer and Brian Morgan, Fair as China Dishes, Washington, D.C., 1977, p. 16 & 17, pl. 5, no. 3 for a blue and white apothecary jar with similar foliage and gadrooned lappet decoration.
Saint George was a Christian martyr who was born in Palastine in the late 3rd century AD. He was of great importance to the English Crusaders who occupied Lydda, his traditional birthplace, in the 11th and 12th centuries. Tales of his heroism were recorded in the Legenda Sanctorum by Jacobus de Voragine in the mid 13th century and were spread more widely by William Caxton in the late 15th century. The warrior saint is said to have slain a dragon outside the walls of Silene in order to rescue the king's daughter, who was being offered as a sacrifice. St. George protected himself with the sign of the cross and his victory over the Dragon lead to the conversion of the city, hence the tale is used as an allegory of Christianity's triumph over paganism.
The current dish is most likely taken from Lucas Vosterman the Elder's engraving of Raphael's painting of Saint George. The original was commissioned in 1505 by the Duke of Urbino, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. Traditionally it is thought that the Duke ordered the painting as a gift for Henry VII of England in gratitude to the King for bestowing upon him the Order of the Garter; St. George and the Dragon being the badge of the Order. By the time the Vosterman print was made in 1627, the painting had passed into the possession of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and the print is dedicated to him.