Description:
This oddly shaped form may be either a tea canister base or possibly a mustard pot base; the squat, bulbous-shaped form is thrown with a slightly flared opening at the top, the surface has been rouletted with small dots, and decorated with vertical stripes of yellow and green lead glaze.
Label Text:
Earthenware forms inspired by fruits, vegetables, and natural materials (such as tortoiseshell) were extremely popular in England throughout the 1760s and into the next decade. They were produced by numerous potters including Josiah Wedgwood. These wares were their response to the fashionably naturalistic creations of the Chelsea and Longton Hall porcelain factories and more broadly to the current taste for such forms, which were characteristic of the rococo style. Handles and spouts were often created as bent twigs or branches often called “crabstock” style. Molded flowers, vines, or leaves often decorate these vessels. These rococo-style ceramics continued to be popular in the Valley into the 1770s, far beyond their fashion heyday in urban areas. On September 1, 1778, Josiah Blakeley advertised in the Connecticut Courant (Hartford, CT): "A general assortment of Crockery Ware by Wholesale of Retail consisting of … coli flower, cream colour, melon and black Tea Pots; cream colourd green, and turtle shell Cream Cups….” Agate, melon, and cauliflower ware cups and saucers were all retailed in Deerfield by Elijah Williams and his son, John Williams. A 1767 letter from English potter Josiah Wedgwood to partner Thomas Bentley indicates that such "green and gold" items were already out of fashion in England.(Green and gold could also refer to green glazed wares with gilding.) Wedgwood was glad to see these out-dated goods shipped to America. The potter's letter confirms that he, and no doubt most English manufacturers, occasionally dumped undesirable goods on the American market.
Subjects:
Pottery; glaze (coating by location) Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2025.6.16 |
