An 18th Century Worcester tankard circa 1769, of footed bell...

Estimate

£1,800 - £2,000

An 18th Century Worcester tankard circa 1769, of footed bell form with ribbed loop handle, transfer printed with an image of Shakespeare flanked by further applied transfer images below a gilded rim, height 14.5cm.

Provenance - Zorensky Collection and the K.J. Yeates Collection.

NB - This tankard was issued for use at the Shakespeare Jubilee held at Stratford-upon-Avon in September 1769 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth. David Garrick attended and the Jubilee marked a turning point in how Shakespeare's works were regarded. The print is based on the monument at Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey sculpted in 1740 by Peter Scheemakers to a design by William Kent. The engraving for the print was done by Robert Hancock.
The pedestal is decorated with busts of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry V and Richard III. The scroll is inscribed with a variant of Prospero's lines from The Tempest.

There are two subsidiary prints, Minerva, Roman Goddess of wisdom and Fame.

More Information

Free from damage or restoration, there is some glaze spotting under the gold to the rim occurring in production.

Tempest lines:

"The Cloud-capt Towers,
The Gorgeous Palaces,
The Solemn Temples,
The Great Globe itself,
Yea all which it inherits shall dissolve
And like ye baseless
Fabrick of Vision
Leave not a Wreck behind".