Description:
Chinese export porcelain teacup 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." The teacup's exterior sides are decorated with floral sprays; the interior has a red band around the rim edge over a purple-dotted band.
Subjects:
Pottery; Enamel and enameling; glaze (coating by location); polychrome; Porcelain Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+61.208B |
