Robert Hunter
Specializing in the Diverse: A Journey in Ten Ceramic Objects

Ceramics in America 2014

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Dish, Cauldon Works, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, 1894–1905. Whiteware. L. 14 1/2". Impressed: “CAULDON”; “14”; printed mark: “England” (Author’s collection; unless otherwise noted, all photos by Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Group of creamware and pearlware shell-edge plates illustrating the range of colors of enamel and underglaze decoration, Staffordshire and Yorkshire, England, 1780–1790. (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; photo, Hans Lorenz.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Storage jar, attributed to William H. Morgan, Baltimore, ca. 1824. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13 3/4". Inscribed on both sides: “York Town / 1781” (Private collection.)

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Pitcher, attributed to William H. Morgan, Baltimore, 1820–1825. Salt-glazed stoneware. Dimensions not recorded. Capacity: 5 gallons. (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Jug, Great Britain, ca. 1835. Pearlware. H. 6 3/4". (Courtesy, Jonathan Rickard.)

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Close-up views of the three colors of slip as they emerge from the three tubes of the slip cup. They form a single droplet yet maintain the individual colors that will compose any of the types of decoration for which this tool is used. At right, note the smaller, secondary droplet falling behind the tricolored droplet falling from the slip cup. The image below shows a single cat’s-eye immediately after the slip fell onto a dry surface. A secondary cat’s-eye is visible in the center of the larger one.

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Tray, James Neale and Robert Wilson Company, Staffordshire, England, ca. 1790. Porcelain. L. 15". (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.)

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Robert Sayer, Telling Fortune in Coffee Grounds, London, April 10, 1790. Colored engraving on laid paper. (Courtesy, Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Basket, American China Manu­factory (Bonnin and Morris), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1773. Soft-paste porcelain. W. (including handles) 6". Mark, inscribed on base in underglaze blue: “PHILADELFIA / the 23 April 1773 / 4.7” (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.)

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Detail of the bottom of the basket illustrated in fig. 9.

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Inkstand, William Crolius, New York, New York, 1773. Salt-glazed stoneware. W. 5 1/2". Inscribed, on bottom: “New York July 12 1773 / William Crolius” (Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Partial and Promised Gift of David Bronstein, 2012; 2012.574a–c.) 

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Detail of the inscription on the bottom of the inkstand illustrated in fig. 11.

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    An “exploded” view of the clay components that make up a Bonnin and Morris pickle stand. Each of these molded and modeled objects had to be prepared prior to assembly. More than seventy separated elements were required to re-create this object. (Courtesy, Michelle Erickson.)

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Pickle stand, Michelle Erickson, Hampton, Virginia, 2007. Porcelain. H. 5 1/2". (Author’s collection; photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Cradle, North Devon, England, 1698. Sgraffito slipware. L. 9". Inscribed: “[16]98 / SD” (Private collection.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Detail of the end panel of the cradle illustrated in fig. 15.

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Mug, James Morgan, Morgan pottery, Cheesequake, New Jersey, 1775–1785. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 6 1/4". Mark: inscribed “No. 45” (Private collection; photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Detail of the incised bird from the mug illustrated in fig. 17. 

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Left: Mug fragment adhered to kiln prop, Salem, North Carolina, 1774–1786. Bisque earthenware. Right: Mug, Salem, North Carolina, ca. 1774–1786. Bisque earthenware. H. 5 7/8". (Collection of Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) 

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Cream jug, John Bartlam and Associates, probably Camden, South Carolina, 1775–1780. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 4 1/8". (Private collection; photo, Robert Hunter.)