Images(6)

Coffeepot

Dateca. 1750

OriginEngland, Liverpool

MediumWhite tin-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOH: 10 1/16" (including lid); OL: 8 3/8"; OD: 4 3/4" (body at widest point).

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Troy D. Chappell Fund

Object number2023-311,A&B

DescriptionTin-glazed stoneware coffeepot: short, splayed foot rises to a baluster-shaped body; S-shaped crabstock spout with bird head end applied to the body opposite the crabstock handle with rococo asymmetrical trefid splayed branch as the thumb rest. The domed lid with a broad rim and deep bezel and topped by a replaced circular knop. The body painted in blue on each side with a chinoiserie landscape of pagoda and tent structures surrounding a central rock with a willow tree. The lid painted ensuite with a pagoda, fence and rock in a chinoiserie landscape.Label TextIn the 18th century, Liverpool, England, was a noted center of tin-glazed earthenware production and many of that city’s wares were exported to America. The fragile nature of tin-glazed earthenware and its inability to withstand thermal shock made it an impractical and poor material for drinking vessels meant to hold hot beverages such as tea, coffee, and chocolate. In an effort to find a solution to this problem and satisfy the needs of customers, some Liverpool potters experimented with making tin-glazed stoneware objects such as this rare coffeepot, one of only seven examples currently identified.Inscription(s)NoneMark(s)NoneProvenanceBefore October 2022, with John Tracy Wiggin (South Yarmouth, Massachusetts); [Bonhams Skinner, Discovery – Interiors Sale, October 1-11,2022, Marlborough, Massachusetts]; October 11, 2022 - November 14, 2023 [Martyn Edgell Antiques, Ltd., Nassington, Peterborough, UK] November 15, 2023 - present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)