Description:
With no Chinese porcelain prototypes to copy, British ceramic tea canisters of the 18th century took several different forms. They are mostly, however, square or octagonal with a wide cylindrical lip, and seem to derive from the japanned metal canisters used for displaying and dispensing tea and coffee in grocers' shops. By contrast, smarter tea canisters of glass or silver tended to copy the wooden tea chest, complete with its wavy metal edging and corners. Only later in the century was the little baluster-shaped canister copied by English porcelain factories (for example, Worcester) which imitated Chinese vase-like versions made solely for export. English octagonal 'melon' ware tea canister covered overall with vertical bands of rouletted tightly-spaced tiny dots and vertically striped with yellow and green glazes on the exterior. The rusty, round tin cover is a later replacement; the original lid would have been made in a similar ceramic. The interest in the rococo style manifested itself in ceramics by embracing a naturalistic style for tablewares. Inspiration for these ceramics were drawn from fruit and vegetables such as apples, pears, cauliflowers, pineapples, and melons. Melon-shaped and decorated ceramics were a common sight on Connecticut River Valley tea tables in the third quarter of the 18th century. Documentation for the sale of the melonware forms exist in the following account books: Samuel Boardman of Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1774: "1 Groce [1 gross=12 dozen] Melon Cups and Saucers; " "1 Doz. Melon bowls"; Samuel Boardman of Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1774: "1/2 gross of melon cups and saucers"; Fisher Gay of Farmington, Connecticut, 1773: "1/2 Doz. Melon Tea potts"; William Ellery of Hartford, Connecticut, 1775: "32 setts mellon cups & saucers"; William Ellery of Hartford, Connecticut, 1776: "6 gross green & yellow cups & saucers"; "1 doz green & yellow sugar dishes"; John Williams (1751-1816) and James Upham (1755-1827) of Deerfield, Massachusetts, 1773, "1 Gro Mellon Teas." On September 1, 1778, Josiah Blakeley advertised in the "Connecticut Courant" of Hartford: "A general assortment of Crockery Ware by Wholesale of Retail consisting of Tureens; compleat setts of Oblong Dishes; Ditto Plates; Soup Plates; enamelled Tea Cups and Saucers; cream color'd Coffee and Chocolate, Ditto; enamelled red, coli flower, cream colour, melon and black Tea Pots; cream colourd green, and turtle shell Cream Cups; cream colour'd, blue and white and black, Sugar Pots; cream colour'd and white Bone? Bowls; Sallad dishes; Butter Boats, & c & c." According to Leslie Grigsby, the colored glazes used on melon and other vegetable subjects were not discovered by Josiah Wedgwood until 1759, the last year of his partnership with Thomas Whieldon. Melon ware wasters have been excavated at Whieldon's Fenton Vivian factory site (1747-1780) and at William Greatbatch's Lower Lane, Fenton factory waste site (from the 1765 to c.1775 production period). Many other factories were indoubtedly producing competitive pieces during the same period. The canister body, which was press-molded in two halves and then joined, has an unglazed area on the base. The 20th-century labels on the underside of the base read "CHATFIELD" in red pencil, and "Whieldon/ M" in ink.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2006.20 |
