Description:
English pearlware rectangular "cottage-shaped" teapot, with underglaze blue transfer-printed floral design with birds on a nest, G-shaped handle and S-curved spout. Within a central reserve, a mother bird guards her ground nest, hidden carefully among the flowers and grass. With her head turned, the bird appears to be eyeing a small butterfly as she guards the nest nearby. Closely-spaced stylized flowers in the reserve provide a background foil for the bird and nest. A graceful flower and scroll motif surrounds each reserve. This pattern dates from the early nineteenth century and was most likely intended for the American market, as witnessed by the dark blue color. No recorded name has been found for his pattern, so it has been given a descriptive Transferware Collectors Club assigned name of "Bird with Nest in Flowers." The E.H. Williams 1838 probate inventory listed: "2 Teapots [blue] ... .20". According to family tradition of the donor, the teapot belonged to her grandmother, Mrs. Allethaire Estey (187?-1953) of Brattleboro, Vermont. Harry Estey's family were residents of Brattleboro, and they met while Allethaire's family summered in Brattleboro. Her family was from Louisville, KY.
Subjects:
Pottery; Enamel and enameling; glaze (coating by location) Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+90.023 |
