sauce boat & tureen
Summary
Sauce boat in the form of a melon, with lobed body and relief-moulded veined surface, on attached heart-shaped leaf saucer, with wavy rim and incised veins, moulded stem at one end. Domed half-melon cover, with square recess at stem end of leaf for ladle. Applied relief twisted leaf stem forms cover handle, embellished with four large applied relief leaves and curling tendrils. Cream coloured earthenware body decorated with mottled green, yellow and brown lead glaze.
Display Label
Shape Shapes are often defined by their function: a teapot must have a handle and a spout. But by breaking away from the usual conventions designers and makers can reveal new possibilities, create new forms and make us think again. They can transform the teapot into a pineapple, or a simple, curvaceous, abstract shape. Through time, makers have used their imagination, their ingenuity and even their sense of humour to transform ordinary and everyday objects into appealing shapes inspired by our surroundings. Some shapes are designed to reflect their use, others are made as a novelty or decorative item: cows for a cream jug, giraffes for a mantelpiece. Many are created out of a desire to experiment, to see what can be done with different materials. This display brings together a menagerie of shapes showing the possibilities available to the maker.
Object Name
sauce boat & tureen
Creators Name
Date Created
1760-1770
Dimensions
with cover: 13.8cm x 15.7cm
without cover: 7.4cm
accession number
1923.684
Collection Group
Place of creation
Etruria
Medium
Credit
Bequeathed by Thomas Tylston Greg
Legal
© Manchester Art Gallery
