An Extremely Rare and Highly Important First Period Dr Wall Worcester Fluted Circular Dessert Plate, beautifully decorated by Jefferyes Hamett O’Neale, the central scene showing the fable of the Cock and the Jewel, a Cockerel standing over a Hen looking at a jewel upon a chain, that has been unearthed through their scraping for corn. They stand before a farm building in the background, set before a stylised Arcadian river scene, a mountain in the distance and rising birds in flight overhead. The central panel surrounded by three large individual riverside scenes, with trees, mountains and one with a castellated ruin with birds in flight overhead. Each panel framed within gold scrolled rococo cartouches, alternating with smaller mirror shaped oval gold scrolled framed panels depicting European floral sprigs. The panels reserved on a rich gros blue ground, the scalloped edge with thick gilded rim.

The central depiction is from Aesop, Perry index 503, the Cock, scratching for food for himself and his hens, finds a precious jewel, he then stated:

‘If thy owner had found thee, and not I, he would have taken thee up, and have set thee in thy first estate; but I have found thee for no purpose. I would rather have one barleycorn than all jewels in the world.’

The moral being: Be Careful not to discard wisdom. The moral favoured and interpreted by Samuel Croxall in his Aesop Fables published in 1722, illustrated by Wenceslas Hollar, is that: ‘One should keep one’s wants to simple necessities.’

Many of the painted fable scenes used by O’Neale at Worcester conform to the Hollar engravings from the Samuel Croxall 1722 edition, thus allowing us to consider that the Manufactory or O’Neale himself possessed a copy.

Marks: Blue fret square or seal mark to the underside.

Further Details: This extremely rare dessert dish, which shows the hallmarks and characteristics of O’Neale’s oeuvre, the animals, river scenes, mountains and flocks of birds in flight, survives from a single commissioned service. The nearest comparison of design is a group of eight pieces sold at Sotheby’s 21 February 1947 from the Heathcote collection, though slightly different panel designs, these comprised: a pair of large fluted circular dishes with fable subjects including ‘The Forrester and the Lion’, illustrated by F Severne Mackenna, Worcester Porcelain, pl. 66, fig 134. Another dish of the similar large shape was sold at Sotheby’s 7th May 1968, lot 223, this now in the Capricorn Foundation at Ramsbury Manor, the collection of the late H.J.Hyams. A larger circular dish with animal and bird panels is illustrated, H Rissik Marshall, pl 27, fig 401. However a nearer comparison can be drawn from a Heart shaped dish originally from the eight Heathcote examples that is now in the Frances and Emory Cocke Collection at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta and illustrated, English Ceramics, The Frances and Emory Cocke Collection, no. 173, the larger panels bear fruit alternating with birds in branches and the smaller panels are similar European floral sprays painted by the same hand as the present example.