Royal Doulton Lambeth Silicon Pitcher Merry Monk Friar Pattern Medieval Style
Item History & Price
Somewhat unusual, hard to find piece of Lambeth Silicon-ware from Royal Doulton, probably from the late 1800s. The pitcher is decorated with a monk in his cell making merry over a bite of fowl and a tankard of ale. By the time we reach the third scene in the vignette, the monk has fallen into a slumbering stupor over the remains of his meal. Oddly, despite the apparent evening of somewhat Bacchanalian excess, the monk's halo is not diminished. There is a bird, possibly a ra...ven, in the scene that adds an extra level of humor. As the events unfold, the bird demonstrates increasing interest in the goings on of the good monk, ending the evening by standing on the table and feasting on the remains of the meal as the monk sleeps on, oblivious. Of course there is also a little irony here, perhaps intended as a wry commentary on drunkenness, the bird is feasting on bird. The piece is done in a Medieval Revival style, both the shape of the jug and the decorative details were drawn from Medieval art and architecture. The Irish Romanesque architectural elements that divide the scenes are beautifully detailed, particularly the spiral fluted columns and the Celtic interlace pattern that decorates the spandrels. The wall behind the monk is decorated with fleur de lis, perhaps intended to depict a woven tapestry. The pattern appears to be hand stamped into the clay, and the fleur de lis are much closer together than on other versions of this piece that I have seen, which would have entailed more hand work, possibly an indication that this is an earlier example of the pattern.
The pitcher is salt glazed on the interior, with a high fired leaded glaze on the outer surface. The band of lighter glaze that covers the scenic panels has a light surface application of the darker brown that creates a nice ombre effect. The lip of the jug is finished with a metal mount, this is unmarked. I thought this might be silver-plate, but it does not shine up with a silver polishing cloth, so I suspect it may be bronze. Oddly, the bottom of the jug is missing. Initially, I thought that it had been damaged and someone had cut it off to clean up the base so it could be displayed. However, when I examine it under magnification, I can see that the surface is rough, where it would be smooth if it had been cut. And I can see where both the salt glaze and the lead glaze have flowed down to cover some of the surface, an indication that it was exposed clay at the time the piece was fired. This seems to indicate that the bottom of the jug was originally an added piece, possibly made of some other material.
The jug measures about 7 1/8" tall and 4" in diameter. Aside from the missing base, the piece is in excellent condition with only minor surface wear.
Due to the fragile and hard to find nature of the pieces we generally carry, the majority of our items are shipped double boxed. Shipping includes insurance, though coverage will beimpacted by US Postal Service policy. Insurance is not available for all international destinations. I will gladly combine shipping formultiple purchases, please ask for a quote. Returns only if itemmisrepresented. Buyer responsible for paying return shipping and refundgiven only if item returned in the same condition it was received. Payment is due within 7 days.
Many of our listings are set up to calculate shipping costs based on the actual weight and size of the package. If so, you can enter your zip code in the shipping tab of the listing to see what your cost would be. If you would like the item to ship ground, please send us a request for a quote. We find that ground is often no less expensive than priority once we add insurance.
The pitcher is salt glazed on the interior, with a high fired leaded glaze on the outer surface. The band of lighter glaze that covers the scenic panels has a light surface application of the darker brown that creates a nice ombre effect. The lip of the jug is finished with a metal mount, this is unmarked. I thought this might be silver-plate, but it does not shine up with a silver polishing cloth, so I suspect it may be bronze. Oddly, the bottom of the jug is missing. Initially, I thought that it had been damaged and someone had cut it off to clean up the base so it could be displayed. However, when I examine it under magnification, I can see that the surface is rough, where it would be smooth if it had been cut. And I can see where both the salt glaze and the lead glaze have flowed down to cover some of the surface, an indication that it was exposed clay at the time the piece was fired. This seems to indicate that the bottom of the jug was originally an added piece, possibly made of some other material.
The jug measures about 7 1/8" tall and 4" in diameter. Aside from the missing base, the piece is in excellent condition with only minor surface wear.
Due to the fragile and hard to find nature of the pieces we generally carry, the majority of our items are shipped double boxed. Shipping includes insurance, though coverage will beimpacted by US Postal Service policy. Insurance is not available for all international destinations. I will gladly combine shipping formultiple purchases, please ask for a quote. Returns only if itemmisrepresented. Buyer responsible for paying return shipping and refundgiven only if item returned in the same condition it was received. Payment is due within 7 days.
Many of our listings are set up to calculate shipping costs based on the actual weight and size of the package. If so, you can enter your zip code in the shipping tab of the listing to see what your cost would be. If you would like the item to ship ground, please send us a request for a quote. We find that ground is often no less expensive than priority once we add insurance.
