Pitcher, "Jefferson"
Pitcher, "Jefferson"
Previous
Next
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- This creamware pitcher is decorated with transfer prints of two famous Americans: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. On the front is a print of a portrait of Washington in profile titled “He in Glory America in Tears.” The portrait of Washington is based on an engraving by Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint Memin done around 1800. On the reverse is a full length portrait of a man labeled “Jefferson,” however the print is just a generic man. Under the spout are the script initials “MBC” within a medallion, with a print of the Great Seal of the United States below. Printed flowers decorate the lip of the pitcher and below the handle. Remnants of gold painted accents can be found all over the jug. Robert H. McCauley purchased this pitcher from Joseph Kindig, Jr. of York, PA on April 25, 1940 for $175.00.
- This pitcher is part of the McCauley collection of American themed transfer print pottery. There is no mark on the pitcher to tell us who made it, but it is characteristic of wares made in large volume for the American market in both Staffordshire and Liverpool between 1790 and 1820. Pitchers of this shape, with a cream colored glaze over a pale earthenware clay, known as Liverpool type, were the most common vessels to feature transfer prints with subjects commemorating events and significant figures in the early decades of United States’ history. Notwithstanding the tense relationship between Britain and America, Liverpool and Staffordshire printers and potters seized the commercial opportunity offered them in the production of transfer printed earthenwares celebrating the heroes, the military victories, and the virtues of the young republic, and frequently all of these things at once.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- pitcher
- place made
- United Kingdom: England, Liverpool
- Physical Description
- monochrome, black (overall surface decoration color name)
- ceramic, earthenware, refined (overall material)
- transfer printed (overall production method/technique)
- Measurements
- overall: 9 5/8 in x 8 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in; 24.4475 cm x 20.955 cm x 13.97 cm
- ID Number
- CE.63.113
- catalog number
- 63.113
- accession number
- 252565
- collector/donor number
- 382
- Credit Line
- Robert H. McCauley
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
- Government, Politics, and Reform
- Domestic Furnishings
- McCauley Liverpool Pottery
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
