Description:
English white press-molded, salt-glazed stoneware wall pocket in a cornucopia shape with a flared rim edged with relief feather and scrollwork over a relief-molded pastoral scene with a pavilion with a domed tower flanked by trees near a windmill, and a herdsman with two goats and two cows on grass; and a large floral spray on a stippled ground on the curved stem. According Leslie Grigsby in "English Pottery": "Although not identical, the building illustrated on this wall pocket is probably taken from a design by William Kent for the twenty-fourth fable, "The Butterfly and the Snail," published in "Fables by the Late Mr. Gay" in seven editions between 1727 and 1753. Kent, an associate of the Earl of Burlington, appears to have based his structure on a pavilion designed by the Earl and constructed at Chiswick in 1717. The building is shown in "Vitruvius Britannicus" in 1725, and in a portrait of the Earl by J. Richardson" and on six relief-decorated salt-glazed tiles in the V & A in London. Thomas and John Wedgwood's undated salt-glaze price list included: 'Corna Copia 2 sizes 8 d[each].' Variations of this wall pocket design are also found on green-glazed creamware, underglaze polychrome oxides, and soft-paste procelain made by Worcester. Fresh, dried and artificial flowers were commonly used as room decorations in the 18th centuries, and were displayed in pockets, flower bricks, vases, pots, and bowls. Wall pockets, which first appeared in China in the 17th century, reached the peak of their popularity in mid 18th century England. Wall pockets came in three basic shapes: faces (the incorporation of a human visage or grotesque mask in the design), balusters, and cornucopiae. Sold in pairs, they could be symmetrical or asymmetrical with left and right-handed shapes; examples such as these asymmetrical horns of plenty or cornucopia pockets were termed "flower horns" in 18th century documents. Wall pockets found their way to the American market in limited quantities, and advertisements for them in American newspapers are rare. William Ellery of Hartford advertised delft “flower horns” in the Connecticut Courant of November 5, 1771. The Ellery day books list sales of “1 pr. Large grane [green?] Flower horns” 6s to John Ledyard, Esquire on August 24, 1767, and another pair of “large Agle [angel or eagle?] flower horns” sold to him in May 10, 1768 for 4s 6p. As in this example, pockets were usually constructed of press-molded fronts joined to a flat, slab back, which was invariably pierced with two holes for hanging. Previous repairs have yellowed, needs conservation.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+64.043 |
