Description:
English creamware globular-shaped, silver shaped hot-water kettle with a circular cover with a flattened button-shaped knop that fits perfectly into the body of the pot; an attached, thickly molded barley-twist bail handle with floral terminals; a shaped spout molded with a female mask at the base and an acanthus leaf at the top; and a flat base. Large-sized pots, like this example which are similar in size and shape to contemporary silver teakettles, have traditionally been called “punch pots” by ceramics collectors. Although there is some evidence that punch was drunk from vessels like these, these large pots more likely contained hot water for refreshing tea leaves in the teapot. Enoch Booth (c.1703-1773) of Tunstall, England, developed the fine, light-colored earthenware now known as creamware in the early 1740s using the various improvements in body, glaze, and firing; but it was Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) who perfected and successfully marketed the ceramic body. Wedgwood’s version of creamware resulted from many experiments with white clays and improved glazes; by 1762, he had developed a light, sturdy, refined, and yet inexpensive cream-colored earthenware body. Wedgwood described the new product as "a species of earthenware for the table, quite new in appearance, covered with rich and brilliant glaze, bearing sudden alterations of heat and cold, manufactured with ease and expedition, and consequently cheap." Middle-class consumers rushed to purchase creamware, bringing the popularity of alternative ceramics such as tin-glazed earthenware and salt-glazed stoneware to an end. In an effort to capture a segment of the creamware market, many English potteries also began to produce the ceramic; estimates suggest that more than 150 factories in England manufactured the ware. Unfortunately most early wares were not marked, making attribution to a particular factory difficult.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2006.33.39 |
