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George Washington Toby Jug, American, marked (Starkey Pottery Company, East Liverpool, Ohio), 1892, clear glaze with black and gilding on earthenware body, 9 ¼ x 7 ¼ x 7 ½ inches, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of Emma and Jay Lewis, R2012.01.046
Exhibition
Aug 20, 2014
throughMay 13, 2016

Stories, Status, & Patriotism: Nineteenth-Century American Ceramics from the Collection

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Stories, Status, & Patriotism: Nineteenth-Century American Ceramics from the Collection opens August 20, 2014, and continues through May 13, 2016, in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature. The exhibition features nineteenth-century American ceramics from the museum’s permanent collection that focus on the themes of stories, status, and patriotism, and includes parian, porcelain, and earthenware with a range of glazes.

In the nineteenth-century, both utilitarian and decorative ceramics held a popular place in American domestic life and society. Although often serving practical household needs, these pieces were also expressions of cultural identity and social roles. Included in the exhibition are objects that told stories, gave status to their owners, and demonstrated American patriotism. As objects of material culture, these ceramic vessels become texts through which we are able to interpret the past and better understand aspects of American society in the nineteenth century.

The exhibition features a selection of American ceramics that were donated by the New York collectors Emma and Jay Lewis in 2012. Their gift to the Lora Robins Gallery, University Museums, of more than 200 pieces established the largest museum study collection of American Rockingham pottery on the East Coast. This special exhibition is concurrent with the long-term installation in the museum devoted to nineteenth-century American ceramics that was co-curated last year by the museum director with Richard Barnett, ’13, as a student research project.

Two interesting works featured in the exhibition and representative of the “stories” theme are a hound handle hunt pitcher and a Rebekah-at-the-Well teapot. These forms represent two of the most popular Rockingham designs produced during that period, which were often copied by other manufacturers. The hound handle pitcher was a commonly copied design among Rockingham manufacturers and various pitchers incorporated hunt scenes, chases, and the resulting hanging game from the hunt. The Rebekah-at-the-Well teapot featured concepts of religion and womanhood, displaying important nineteenth-century American ideals through the imagery on the teapot. It was the most popular vessel in the nineteenth-century American home, and a housewife showed the religious and domestic values she held for her household by serving tea from her Rebekah teapot. The pattern portrays Rebekah as she carries water from the well, symbolizing her worthiness before God as told in the Biblical story as written in Genesis 24.

The “status” theme includes several fancy presentation pitchers, given on special occasions and inscribed with the recipient’s name and often the giver’s name as well. The highlight of this section is the remarkable Covered Vase, circa 1887, designed by Edward Lycett (American, born England, 1833-1910), and manufactured by the Faience Manufacturing Company, Brooklyn, New York. This ornamental ceramic vase shows influences of Chinese, Islamic, and Japanese ceramics, all characteristic of the Aesthetic Movement style.

Representing the American “patriotism” theme are several pitchers designed with the symbols of the American eagle and flags as decorative motifs. Using the popular, and usually humorous, Toby design that was produced in many different guises, the stately and elegant George Washington Toby Jug, made in 1892 by the Starkey Pottery Company, East Liverpool, Ohio, is a decorative pitcher showing the bust of Washington with thirteen gold stars encircling his neck. 

Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition was curated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums.

Stories, Status, & Patriotism: Nineteenth-Century American Ceramics from the Collection