Images(3)

2025-57, Teacup and AF-14.41.129 Ceramic Fragment

Cup

Dateca. 1820

OriginEngland, Staffordshire

MediumLead-glazed earthenware (china glaze / pearlware)

DimensionsOverall: 2 × 3 1/4in. (5.1 × 8.3cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2025-57

DescriptionTeacup: pearlware handless teacup with short foot ring. Decorated in pink luster around the rim with a broad border of a stylized leafy floral vine possibly with grapes between two thin bands.Label TextLuster decorated ceramics were available to American consumers by the early part of the 19th century. By the 1820s, pink lusterware was advertised in newspapers throughout the young United States including Virginia. The decoration on this handless teacup matches the pink luster motif found on a fragment of a sugar dish that was recovered in 2024 from one of the fireplaces during restoration of the Bray School in Williamsburg, Virginia.