Fabled plates
People who know me well will know that I love foxes. As I live in London, I get to see a lot of foxes; they are everywhere. There is a family near the back of our garden and a few years ago I befriended one of their kits, who was struggling with his health. I helped him with food and medication, but also ended up playing with him every day. Ever since the family moved away to another garden, I've really missed him!
It is no surprise then that I love the work of the celebrated porcelain artist Jeffereys Hamett O'Neale, who specialised in painting the fables of Aesop, also called the fables of La Fontaine, as that is the French version that re-popularised the original Greek fables.
Jeffereys Hamish O'Neale was an Irish miniaturist and apparently a very funny man. Alongside his successful business painting miniatures, he painted porcelain at Chelsea and later at Worcester. He became famous for his vivid and often humorous painting of the fables; countless cheeky foxes, lions, donkeys and cockerels can be found in his work. In an era when social mobility became part of public life and people were able to improve their status in society by improving themselves, Aesops Fables became hugely popular. They taught a common moral and ethical code that was a perfect way to impress ladies or gentleman who were born a station above yours.
This wonderful painter didn't only paint; he also trained apprentices to paint in his style. The plates shown here are painted by one of his students at Worcester in about 1780. They are from a famous large dessert service; you can see several pieces from the same service, painted in the same hand, illustrated in "Worcester Porcelain 1751 - 1790 The Zorensky Collection" by Simon Spero and Henry Sandon.
On these plates we can see two fables. One is about three foxes, who seem to be relaxing and having a chat under a big tree. The smallest one clearly has an issue with fleas, and what is striking is that they look exactly the way the foxes in my garden look when they relax and communicate with each other. I have, however, not been able to find which fable this is... do you know it? Please let us all know!
The other fable is the one of the Horse and the Donkey. They were walking along the road, the donkey with a heavy load on its back. The donkey asked the horse to help him carry it, but the horse, feeling rather grand about its own beauty and speed, felt this was beneath him and refused. At some point the donkey stumbled and died - and the horse ended up not only being made to carry the donkey's load, but also the dead donkey itself. The moral, of course, being that if we don't help each other, we'll regret it as we'll end up carrying a much greater burden in life.
It is incredibly rare to come across these items. These two plates also have provenance: they were sold as part of the Sir Jeremy Lever Collection, at Bonhams (Lot 89, 7 July 2007); this was one of the great porcelain collections that included many rare and important pieces.
Where to find things
You can find lots of interesting plates here, and you can find all my available stock here. If you always want to see the latest additions, follow me on Instagram... I post pictures and a story several times a week.
Happy weekend, and be fabulous! 🦊🦊🦊
Skinny, the little fox in my garden, eating dinner off the fine china
This week's new treasures:
