Charger

Ralph Simpson, a leading 17th-century slipware potter, used slip to decorate this large presentation dish in a variety of ways, including lines of orange and brown slip detailed with small dots or "jewels" of white slip. This charger illustrates a secular allegory of sacrifice, the mother pelican who feeds her offspring blood from her own breast during times of famine.  The pelican is also a biblical allegory of Christ's sacrifice for mankind.

Slip is the term for a mixture of clay and water. Slip of a thin consistency can be painted on with a brush to add two-dimensional decoration, while a thick slip can be applied to add three-dimensional embellishment. These large dishes, called chargers, were decorated with multi-colored slips, covered with a transparent lead glaze and then fired. Slipware was either potted on a wheel or press molded by pressing clay into or onto a mold. Although many slipware pieces were functional, works such as those displayed here were designed to hang on the wall as decorative objects.