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Article: Aesop's fables on English ceramics.
- Article from:
- The Magazine Antiques
- Article date:
- June 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It would be impossible to discuss in a single article all the eighteenth-century English ceramic objects that were inspired in shape or decoration by book illustrations of Aesop's fables. I will focus here on the earthenwares and stonewares inspired by these moralistic tales, which had become well-known to the British people through centuries of publications.
The earliest known fables date from the eighth century B.C. Aesop is said to have been a Phygian slave who lived in greece in the sixth century B.C. and eventually won his freedom, in part through his skill at helping settle disputes by telling fables. The first known written version of his fables is the ...