Delftware plate

This plate is interesting for its illustration, inscription and style. The image illustrates sawyers at work, two in a saw-pit, another carrying timber. The reverse bears an inscription ‘Charles, Cordy of Norwich 1758’. Charles Cordy worked as a sawyer in Norwich and lived and worked a street away from Norwich Castle. Cordy may have commissioned the image of the sawyers especially, perhaps as an advertisement for his shop. The overall style of the illustration, as well the form of the saw being used, are distinctly Dutch, suggesting that a Dutch print or delftware tile may have been the original source of the design. There were many inhabitants of Dutch extraction in Norwich and Norfolk during the 18th century, although it is not at present known if Cordy’s family had Dutch connections. This plate encapsulates the fascinating hybridity of English delftware of the mid 18th century.