Description:
English creamware, cylindrical form teapot with ear-shaped strap handle and leaf capped spout, by William Greatbatch (1735-1813), decorated with two "Prodigal Son" black transfer prints overpainted in red, pink, green, and yellow. Greatbatch was a well-known Staffordshire potter, who also worked for Thomas Whieldon and Josiah Wedgwood as a supplier of molds and ceramic wares. According to David Barker, the parable of the Prodigal Son was a popular subject with the English public from the mid 18th century, after a set of six engravings of paintings by the French artist Sebastien le Clerc II was published in Paris in 1751 as the "Histoire de l'enfant prodique." English copies appeared over the next few years, one set by Dublin-born Richard Purcell (c.1720-1766), who came to London c.1755 and also used the pseudonyn Charles or Philip Corbutt, and another by an unknown printmaker, which were still being advertised for sale in 1775. The Prodigal Son prints which appear on Greatbatch's tea and coffee pots closely follow Purcell's six mezzotints; hairstyles and dress have been updated on Greatbatch's prints, but the general position, posture and attitudes of the figures are the same as are the furniture and other items. Others have thought these prints to be by Thomas Radford and Leslie Grigsby notes that other factories also produced contemporary imitations of these subjects. These six scenes include: "The Prodigal Son Receives his Patrimony" where the young man receives money and deeds from his father as his mother and brother sits around a table in a garden setting; "The Prodigal Son Taking Leave" with the son saying goodbye to his father as his brother stands by the family home and the horses and a coachman await in the background beside a road goes off into the distance; "The Prodigal Son in Excess" with the young man seated at a festive table with three woman and holding one of the women whose breasts are bare; "The Prodigal Son in Misery" depicts the result of his excesses, standing in a pig sty, bedraggled and broke; "The Prodigal Son returns Reclaim'd" shows the young man kneeling in front of his father seeking forgiveness, while people talk behind them, and in the distant left, a cow is being butchered to prepare for the feast; and "The Prodigal Son Feasted on his Return " where the young man is seated at a festive table with people eating, drinking, and listening to music to celebrate his return. This teapot has the common pairing of the "The Prodigal Son returns Reclaim'd" and "The Prodigal Son Feasted on his Return" on two sides; the two other common pairings are "Patrimony" with "Taking Leave," and "Excess" with "Misery." The slightly domed, ribbed teapot cover has an applied, reclining flower knob with a bud and leaf terminal; however, this thick, heavy, clunky cover is a replacement. Authentic pot lids on these teapots usually have a domed shape with the Greek key molded around the edge. The enamel colors on this example are very different tones; and the copyist produced a labored drawing, which does not have the spontaneity of the decoration on the body. Note the sponged purple band with two green splotches and red stylized flowers around the spout and handle, which is repeated on the lid. There is also a thin application of metallic gold on the lid, which was introduced in the late 19th century. In the late 18th century, gold powder was mixed with honey to form a paste, which was then painted on the body. The gold was then fired on at a low temperature firing, and then burnished. The teapot has an inverted loop or ear-shaped handle, which is typical of the fragments found on the Greatbatch site; a curved, fluted spout with molded acanthus leaves around its base and the end painted with a frond; a concave or waisted shoulder; and narrow Greek key or rouletted bands around the shoulder and the base. Cover may be a replacement, usually covers on these teapots are more domed in shape.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+56.015 |
