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| When Pope Absolves, The Devil Smiles Staffordshire, 1780-1790 The Victoria & Albert Museum |
A work of moulded, lead-glazed earthenware, this bell-shaped cup is modeled with a double face. One face represents the Pope with a triple crown. This is the face which shows when the cup is held downward. The other face, prominent, when the cup is tilted upward depicts a horned devil. The faces are joined by volutes and raised acanthus leaves picked out in blue.
Inside the cup, the inscription reads, “'When Pope absolves / the devil smiles.” It was made in Staffordshire, England between 1780 and 1790.
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