Very rarely seen 1794 John Turner Georgian Archery Lesson sprigged stoneware mug
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Very rarely seen 1794 John Turner Georgian Archery Lesson sprigged stoneware mug:
$99.99
We are listing this very rarely seen 1794 Georgian \"The Archery Lesson\" sprigged white stoneware mug (with a fully hallmarked sterling silver rim) by the great English potter John Turner (a friend and later competitor of Josiah Wedgwood), who was appointed The Potter to The Prince of Wales in 1784. The mug is impressed on its base with the TURNER mark used by John Turner and his sons (William and John) from 1780-1806, and the sterling silver rim is marked with a duty mark facing right, lion passant, the date letter t (used in 1794-1795), and a partially worn A*W maker\'s mark. This mark was registered in 1790 by London silversmith William Abdy II (see page 214 of Grimwade\'s London goldsmiths 1697-1837). Turner was known for the hard, dense dry-bodied stoneware he created using a specific type of white clay, and for the quality and innovative nature of his sprigging, which rivaled and sometimes surpassed Wedgwood\'s. Turner\'s mugs are much more uncommon than his jugs, and this mug epitomizes the qualities that made him so famous, with its beautifully potted white body, and the sublimely sprigged details of its very unique subject. The Georgian era (and the centuries before) were largely male dominated in every regard, including the subjects appearing on stoneware pieces. Men riding in hunts and drinking and smoking at the pub were the most common themes, and women usually only appeared as goddesses in classical mythology scenes. The subject of this mug is totally unlike anything else of this period - two women learning the sport of archery (although the instructor is male). The figures seem alive with their vitality, and the numerous little details are fantastic - including a hunting horn hanging from a tree limb, the classical garden folly structure seen in the distant trees in the background, the three dimensional effect of the target, and the way the sprigging curves up at its outside edges to focus the attention on the central scene. The mug is almost 6.75 inches tall, 6.25 inches at its widest point, superbly glazed and sprigged, and it is in very good condition, with the obvious exception of a stable vertical crack which goes down from the rim to the base of the archery sprig (highlighted in the last picture). Turner\'s masterpieces can be found in many of the great museums and personal collections around the world, and this is an exceptional example of both his creativity and his attention to detail (although it unfortunately has a crack). Please view the closeup pictures and judge for yourself.
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Very rarely seen 1794 John Turner Georgian Archery Lesson sprigged stoneware mug:
$99.99