The Oyster and the Litigants Plate, 1900

Item — Box: CFC Tableware Box 10

Identifier: CFC2019.0258.1

Staff Only

China plate of "L'Huitre et les Plaideurs" (The Oyster and Litigants)

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Carlson Fable Collection is a gathering of primary fable materials at Reinert Alumni Memorial Library at Creighton University. It grew out of the personal collection of fable materials gathered by Rev. Gregory Carlson, S.J. and was given to the Creighton Libraries in 1996. There are more than 10,000 books and approximately 8,000 artifacts in the collection.

From plates to stamps, from cards to whiskey decanters, from toys to posters, you'll find just about anything you can imagine here. Please explore all that is to offer here in my fables Catalogue of Objects.

This is the largest online catalog of fable related objects on the internet. Many are from Aesop's Fables but you will find La Fontaine, Velazquez and Krylov also represented in this collection.

Dates

1900

Extent

1 Plates : Robert Salles (?). Paris: G.D. ; 8¼" in diameter

Language of Materials

French

Additional Description

Abstract

The seller guesses a date in the late 1800's or early 1900's. She describes the piece as a vintage porcelain/ceramic plate measuring about 8¼" in diameter. There is a painted pink rim with an embossed floral design. In the plate's center is a fine colored depiction of the two litigants and the judge just as he is consuming the flesh of the disputed oyster. Maroon, tan, yellow, blue, flesh, and green color the scene very nicely. Text is arranged in unusual fashion. Four lines appear with the title above the scene. Successive sections move from 3 o'clock down to 6 o'clock with fresh indentations. The artist's signature is, as the seller notes, quite difficult to decipher. "Robert" seems clear, but the last name could be "Falln" or "Saffer" or several combinations of these letters. The back has one or two apparent registry marks besides the "G.D. Paris" stamp. I am not sure I have another plate anything like this specimen. Lovely!