Mustard Pot

The squat convex-sided pot has a wide beak-shaped spout that is perpendicular to a scroll-form strap handle. It has a low-domed lid with a bud-shaped finial. A hinged pewter mount with a prominent thumbpiece joins the lid to the top of the handle. The outer surfaces are painted in a limited palette of brown, green and blue enamels. The ancient Greek hero Orpheus is depicted under the spout seated on a mound of grass while holding a lyre. He was famous for playing and singing so beautifully that all nature and its creatures were charmed. Here the figure is flanked by naturalistically rendered animals including a lion, goat, stag, leopard, ostrich, unicorn, camel, and porcupine – all, except those directly around Orpheus, positioned on individual mounds of earth. The lid includes an ostrich, boar and peacock, similarly depicted.