…the signal has been made that the enemy’s
combined fleet are coming out of Port. We have very little wind…
Admiral Nelson to Emma Hamilton, October 19, 1805.
The death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar was one of the defining moments
in British history, and potters were quick to feed the public’s desire
to remember the historic event. But as so often is the case, the manufacturers’
impulse was as exploitative as it was patriotic.
Admiral Vernon’s 1739 attack on Porto Bello in Spain (1) was the first
British victory to be commemorated by souvenir ceramics. There would not be
another until 1782 when Admiral Rodney routed the French fleet at the Battle
of the Saintes. Coming as it did on the heels of Britain’s defeat in
America, that success was particularly sweet and generated ceramic souvenirs
as never before (2 to 5). The subsequent battles of St. Vincent in 1797 (6),
the Nile in 1798 (7), and Trafalgar in 1805 (8 and 9) all ended in memorable
victories, but Nelson was to be the last of the superstar heroes commemorated
in clay.
1.
Bowl, red-bodied earthenware. Attributed to Thomas Asbury, England, ca. 1740.
Lent by the Chipstone Foundation, NH2000.46, gift of Carol and Ivor Noël
Hume.
2.
Loving cup, red ware. Possibly Bell Pottery, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ca. 1782–1784.
3.
Figure of Lord Rodney, pearlware. Staffordshire, ca. 1782–1784.
4.
Teapot, pearlware. Staffordshire, ca. 1782–1784.
5.
Portrait pitcher of Lord Rodney, slip-cast pearlware. Staffordshire, ca. 1782–1784.
6.
Pitcher, slip-cast unglazed stoneware. Probably Castleford, Yorkshire, ca. 1797–1800.
Lent by the Chipstone Foundation, NH2000.47, gift of Carol and Ivor Noël
Hume.
7.
Pitcher, slip-cast pearlware. Staffordshire, ca. 1798–1800. Lent by the
Chipstone Foundation, NH2000.43, gift of Carol and Ivor Noël Hume.
8.
Pitcher, pearlware. Staffordshire, ca. 1805–1810. Lent by the Chipstone
Foundation, NH2000.45, gift of Carol and Ivor Noël Hume.
9.
Jug, brown stoneware. Lambeth or Fulham, ca. 1805–1810.
