Snuffer Tray

Germany

About 1810

  • Titles Snuffer Tray (Descriptive)
  • Medium cast iron
  • Dimensions 9 1/8 × 3 9/16 in. (23.2 × 9 cm)
  • Credit Line Gift of American Cast Iron Pipe Company, 1986.221.21
  • Work Type snuffer tray
  • Classification Containers

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Two ash and burl ash armchairs, the cabriole front legs end in small scrolls, the arm supports curve inward and likewise end in small scrolls that function as handholds, the arms lathe-turned, terminating in a carved, stylized anthemion motifs where they meet the stile, the back square and each crest rail is set with three green jasper medallions with classical motifs: .1) "Germany and Turkey with amorini grieving for Elisabeth" (from the 1790 series designed for sale in Germany, most of which celebrate the accession and virtues of Leopold II of Austria, who succeeded his brother Joseph II in January 1790. Elisabeth was the favorite niece of Joseph II, who died in February 1790); (probably) "Cybele, goddess of nature and fertiliy"; sacrificial scene (unidentified); and .2) "Fame inscribing a vase to the memory of Elisabeth" (from the German series); "Hercules strangling the Nemean lion" (modeled by William Hackwood ca. 1773); "Germany and Turkey with armorini grieving for Elisabeth" (from the German series); the striped green silk upholstery new
Vase, David Puxley, Wedgwood, glazed stoneware
Self-framed oval plaque of black basalt molded in relief illustrating the marriage feast of Perseus and Andromeda at the moment it is violently interrupted by Phineas, to whom Andromeda was formerly betrothed; outnumbered by Phineas and his followers, Perseus is seen in the foreground holding the severed head of Medusa, who he had recently slain, above a pile of bodies, to the left is a banquet table below a drawn curtain, in the background is an architectural structure and the arrival of more of Phineas's followers.
Slightly convex, open shape. The exterior is matte black with faint line impressions, creating a swirl effect with the base's bottom as the center of the swirl. The dish's interior is glazed and has a dark green cast. The glaze is smooth and even.