Description:
A pair of garniture or spill vases (part of a larger garniture of five pieces) in the shape of opposing tree stumps with goats seated at their bases and a pair of birds (one on a nest and the other above a hole in the tree) and a small scalloped opening for spills or dried flowers, the stump is decorated with stippling molding and painted with high temperature underglaze oxide colors of green, brown, and yellow, and the rim of the stump is outlined in underglaze blue, the goats are painted with a tan- yellow color and spots of brown, the lower edge of the stump has solid border of brown.
Label Text:
This is a rare, complete example of a mantelpiece garniture – typically a set of five ceramic vases that “garnished” the mantelpiece. These pottery vases could have held dried flowers or spills for lighting candles or the fireplace. Although decorative pieces weren’t a major part of his business, the 1819 inventory of the shop of Boston china merchant Horace Collamore included, “[1 pr] stumps with sheep 6/.”
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2023.23.1.2 |
