Description:
English rectangular-shaped tureen with attached molded handles in the shape of curled leaves; and a lid with a rectangular molded floral finial and a notch for a ladle. The tureen is decorated overall with transfer printing in dark underglaze blue: the lid shows a scene based on "The Letter of Introduction" of two men and a dog in a library; the two sides have the same scene of a family group - two seated and two standing adults, a small child, and a dog - around a table with the seated balding man reading a "SWEET VALENTINE". "The precious missive seems to have been snatched away from its owner, and she is trying to get possession of it again." There are floral borders on both base and lid, and a floral design on both ends around the handles. The interior base of the tureen has a scene of a family - father, mother holding a baby, and three children - with the father's fingers making a rabbit shadow puppet. According to A. W. Coysh and R. K. Henrywood: "This series was printed in dinner, dessert, and tea wares by James & Ralph Clews [1819-1836]. It is based on the paintings of Sir David Wilkie R. A. which mainly depicted contemporary cottage life. Examples are printed in dark blue and marked with an oval scroll with flowers at the base, with both series title "Wilkie's Designs" and the name of each individual scene: "Christmas Eve", "The Errand Boy", "The Escape of the Mouse", "The Letter of Introduction", "Playing Draught", "The Rabbit on the Wall", "The Valentine". Examples in Britain are very scarce." The paper label on the base of this tureen reads "Hannah Palmer Hall" for Hannah Clarissa Palmer Hall of Goshen, CT, and was probably purchased for her marriage to Asaph Hall II of Goshen on January 29, 1829. The daughter of Robert and Eunice (Humphrey) Palmer, Hannah Palmer was born April 19, 1804 in Goshen, CT, and died in Goshen, CT, on March 8, 1880. Her father moved to Goshen from Stonington, CT, and was related to many seafaring Palmers, including the one for whom Palmer Land in Antarctica was named. Asaph Hall II was brought up as a young gentleman and his mother set him up in business with a Goshen factory that manufactured clocks; however, his inheritance slipped away quickly. While in Georgia selling clocks he died of a fever in Clinton on September 4, 1842, and Hannah Palmer Hall was left to raise six children. For three years she and her children struggled to redeem a mortgaged farm. During one of the years they made and sold 10,000 pounds of cheese at six cents a pound. It was a losing fight and they retired to a farm free of mortgage. The oldest of her six children Asaph Hall III went to work as a carpenter at age 16 and helped to support the family. After further education he distinguished himself as an astronomer, discovering the moons of Mars in 1877 at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. The youngest of six children was Mary Caroline Hall, born March 30, 1837. She married George W. Humphrey of Goshen in 1847, and was the great grandmother of Richard A. Humphrey, donor of the tureen.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1998.26 |
