Anna Burnside
Head of Sale
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Offered in support of Art Fund
Lot 102
An important English delftware glass-bottomed tankard, dated 1791
15 April 2025, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £14,080 inc. premium
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An important English delftware glass-bottomed tankard, dated 1791
Probably Lambeth, of cylindrical form, the flared base accommodating a glass bottom, finely painted in blue with the arms of the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers, the motto 'In God is all our trust' inscribed in black above the initials and date 'I W 1791', this flanked by an detailed scene of two men building a multi-storeyed house, one attending to scaffolding, the other laying bricks, the other side of the tankard with a huntsman aiming his rifle at birds in flight, two alert hounds beside him, the handle with a thumbrest and trailing foliate decoration, the rim edged in reddish-brown, 14.6cm high
Footnotes
Provenance
With Anthony Belton, 1980
Graham Slater Collection
In researching his tankard Graham Slater corresponded with the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers, who helpfully confirmed three probable candidates for its original owner. In 1791 there were three members of the Company with the initials JW; John Withers of Cheapside, John Watkins of Clothfair and James Woodroffe of Hungerford, Berks. Slater surmised that Woodruffe was the most likely owner noting that both the hunting and building scenes are very obviously set in countryside, not depicting life in the City of London.
The present example belongs to a small group of late 18th century glass-bottomed tankards or mugs thought to have been made by John Brayne of Lambeth High Street. Two such tankards are in the Victoria and Albert Museum. One depicts haymaking and is inscribed 'C H 1785' and the second is dated 1793 and shows two jockeys racing. Both are illustrated by Michael Archer in his museum catalogue (1993), C.25 and C.27 and are most likely by the same hand as the Tylers and Bricklayers tankard. Another related mug painted with the arms of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners and an appropriate scene of gardeners at work, is discussed by Garry Atkins, see An Exhibition of English Pottery 1650-1800 (1991), item 18.
The Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers have in their collection a delftware punch bowl painted with the arms of the company and dated 1722, which is thought to have been presented to Joseph Pratt, who was master in 1721-22. The present lot would appear to be a very rare in its depiction of bricklaying in practice.