Description:
Chinese export porcelain round teapot decorated in the Famille rose palette with floral sprays in red, pink, green, yellow, and blue. The two teapots (HD 61.208, 61.208A) and a teacup (HD 61.208B) are what remains of porcelain tea wares owned by the family of Asa Stebbins (1767-1844) of Deerfield, which were acquired from a direct descendant of the family. The Stebbinses were one of a group of families that rose to prominence in the Connecticut River Valley after the Revolutionary War; prominent Deerfield resident Asa Stebbins made his living as a farmer and mill owner, and served as a town selectman and Massachusetts state representative. He married Emilia Harvey (1769-1841) of Deerfield in 1790, and built a fashionable neo-classical-style house, the first brick home in Deerfield, in 1799. As a representative to the legislature, Asa often traveled to Boston and would have been acquainted with the latest styles of architecture and furnishings. His home is a testament to refinement and fashion, boasting a free-standing circular staircase and a plaster work ceiling in the south parlor. Chinese porcelain became a status symbol for this newly arrived family; in addition to tea wares, Asa Stebbins purchased half of a Chinese export porcelain dinner service in the “Canton” pattern (HD 82.021) in 1826. In the 1790s, "sets of china," "china cups and saucers," and "china tea sets" had begun to appear in Connecticut Valley estate inventories. Prior to this time, the few porcelain tea drinking forms owned in this region were rarely owned in sets with matching decoration. The 1803 account book of Amos Porter (1763-1815) of Vermont, which is owned by Connecticut Historical Society, lists Porter's transactions in Canton, China, and includes "Bot of Synchong / 3 Setts of China ware for Luke Wadsworth / 2 Setts China ware for Children." These teapots are typical of the severe neo-classical style prevalent in the last decade of the 18th century, and were common among the elite families in the Connecticut River Valley and elsewhere during the first two decades after the American Revolution. At that time, drum-shaped teapots with straight spouts and entwined strap handles with berry finials were the norm. The painted decoration combines repetitive and delicate geometric borders with fruit and floral sprays. The cover has a gilded strawberry finial with red leaves, a band of blue dots, and a solid blue band around the edge. The double, ribbed strap handle has red-painted flower terminals; the upturned spout is plain. The body, which has gently sloping shoulder and straight sides, is decorated with floral sprays on the side and a blue-dotted band around the bottom edge.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+61.208 |
