A set of six rare engraved 'Turf Stack' rummers, circa 1800
Perhaps Perrin Geddes and Co., each with an ovoid bowl decorated with a large stack of turf between two trees, the reverse with the monogram TS and floral sprays, 11.7cm high (minor chips to feet) (6)
Sold for
£1,680
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance:
Phillips, 26 May 1999, lot 48
In 1779 a Lancashire farmer, Thomas Scarisbrick, was killed by a flash of lightning whilst building a stack of turf by the main Ormskirk to Preston Road. His son, James, completed the stack and kept it in good repair as a memorial to his father. On his death in 1824, he left sets of goblets to his grandchildren, engraved with his father's initials and the famous turf stack. In 1828, while on a visit to the area, Wordsworth was so struck by the tale that he wrote a sonnet about it. Further information may be found in James Bromley's Some Literary Reminiscences of Lancashire (circa 1890).
Category: Decorative Arts / European Ceramics
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