Description:
English creamware press-molded, cauliflower teapot decorated with green glaze, attributed to William Greatbatch (1735-1813), which is part of a probably assembled set consisting of a teapot, coffeepot, cream pot, tea canister and waste bowl. Greatbatch was a well-known Staffordshire potter, who had also worked for Thomas Whieldon and Josiah Wedgwood as a supplier of molds and ceramic wares. The interest in the rococo style manifested itself in ceramics by embracing a naturalistic style for tablewares. Inspiration for these ceramics were drawn from fruit and vegetables such as apples, pears, cauliflowers, pineapples, and melons, which were favored by the Connecticut River Valley gentry during the third quarter of the 18th century. Samuel Boardman of Wethersfield and William Ellery of Hartford, Connecticut, were among the Valley merchants who imported these wares from New York ceramic merchants starting before 1770. The merchant, Samuel Smith of Farmington, Conn., described a cauliflower teapot as a "Califlower T Pot." The lower half of the body in green has four distinctly molded long leaves alternating with stylized linear molding, above which, on the body, spout and lid, is the white cauliflower design. The ribbed handle has a S-shape with leaf and scroll terminals. There is a slightly indented foot rim.The body has been once fired and then painted with clear and colored glazes.Evidence for the export of such pottery survives in period documents. Shopkeepers Balfour and Barraud, in Norfolk, Virginia, offered "earthen ware colliflower tubs and stands" for sale in July 1766.[7] "A China Cauliflower and Plate," perhaps meaning a tureen and stand, were items left by tory John Randolph at Tazewell Hall in Williamsburg, Virginia, when he returned in 1777 to England during the Revolutionary War. Continental interest in cauliflower ware is demonstrated in an April 22, 1763 letter to Josiah Wedgwood from Samuel Tabor, his Rotterdam agent from 1763 to 1769. Tabor states,"... I import largely of the fine goods, Lanskip, pineapple, Colleflower and c but all these must be in setts; a Teapot Milk Jug Sug.r dish and bowle, if not they wont sell here."Partly because of the publication of many scientific books, mid-eighteenth-century England saw an increased interest in decorative subjects drawn from the natural world. Painted motifs and ceramic shapes imitate (more or less accurately) flowers, fruits, and vegetables. So-called cauliflower ware, typically in partially green-glazed creamware, was among the most popular manifestations of the fashion and was produced in greatest numbers at factories in Staffordshire, and in smaller quantities in Yorkshire and elsewhere. William Greatbatch made cauliflower tea- and coffee-wares at his factory (active c. 1762-82) at Lower Lane, Fenton, Staffordshire. A crate book entry dated September 21, 1763, records that Greatbatch delivered to Josiah Wedgwood: "12 setts Colly flower ware viz./ 1 Coffee pot, 1 stand to it,/1 Teapot and stand, 1 M. pot,/1 Sugar Dish, 1 slop Bason,/1 Spoon Boat, 6 Cho. and 6 saucers,/6 Teacups and 6 Sau, 6 Coffees and /6 saucers. 1 Tea canister."
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+56.088C |
