Topic: Engraved Jug with Scary Baby, Dancers and Angels

[ckscot]

There's no mark on the base or anywhere else on either piece.  I have searched with my magnifying glass in case there was anything hidden in the foliage, but no luck.

Thanks for the Lobmeyr link.  Looking at them both close up I think the treatment of the hair on the figures is actually finer/more delicate in my ewer !?  especially in the photo 'Puck 3'.

Re the resemblance between Puck in the Dadd and the Reynolds paintings, the Sothebys catalogue note actually refers to it, so you are spot on!

[flying free]

Referring back to Ekimp's post on 13th July regarding the wings, Wiki has this to say

'Descriptions
Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers. Diminutive fairies of various kinds have been reported through centuries, ranging from quite tiny to the size of a human child.[7] These small sizes could be magically assumed, rather than constant.[8] Some smaller fairies could expand their figures to imitate humans.[9] On Orkney, fairies were described as short in stature, dressed in dark grey, and sometimes seen in armour.[10] In some folklore, fairies have green eyes. Some depictions of fairies show them with footwear, others as barefoot. Wings, while common in Victorian and later artworks, are rare in folklore; fairies flew by means of magic, sometimes perched on ragwort stems or the backs of birds.[11] Modern illustrations often include dragonfly or butterfly wings.[12]' 
  (My bolding)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy


The source reference is : Briggs (1976), The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature, p. 249 and page 148

I have to say I absolutely hate a reference to 'Modern' without a specification of exactly what time period that constitutes.  I remember reading 'Modern Short Stories' written by ...  for exams and realising it had been written in the 1930s. So, I don't know what period Briggs means by 'Modern'. 
However, on re-reading that sentence out loud with emphasis, I wonder if his use of the word 'modern' refers to Victorian or later, as opposed to the 'folklore' depictions and flying 'by magic' he mentions at the start of the sentence?

Not that helpful in the end as it infers the piece could be Victorian or later  I guess