Pitcher (One of a pair)
Tucker Factories, American, 1827 - 1838
Joseph Hemphill, American, 1770 - 1842
William Ellis Tucker, American, 1800 - 1832
1827-1838
Porcelain with polychrome enamel and gilding
Overall: 9 7/16 in. (24 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Katharine T. and Merrill G. Beede 1929 Fund
2009.8.2
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Tools and Equipment: Food Service
Research Area
Decorative Arts
On view
Label
The Philadelphia factories associated with William Ellis Tucker were the first moderately successful manufacturers of porcelain in the United States. Pitchers, frequently made in pairs, are among the earliest and most popular forms associated with Tucker. Reflecting the Neoclassical taste of the period, this pair is ornamented with gilded laurel wreaths and borders of stars, leaves, and musical trophies.
From the 2019 exhibition American Art, Colonial to Modern, curated by Barbara J. MacAdam, Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art
|Gilded laurel wreaths, stars, leaves, and other patterns surround a multicolored or polychromed floral design on this pair of porcelain pitchers manufactured at Tucker Factories in Pennsylvania—among the earliest successful attempts at manufacturing porcelain in the United States. We might see them as gaudy today, but these highly decorated pitchers would have been sought after for use in an upper-class home in the mid-19th century.
From the 2024 exhibition Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Exhibition History
American Art, Colonial to Modern, Israel Sack Gallery and Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019-September 12, 2021.
Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 18, 2024 - late 2025.
Tucker China 1825-1838, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 4-September 9, 1957.
Publication History
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, Tucker China 1825-1838, p. 27 no. 337-38.
Provenance
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence L. Roberts, 1957; Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, New York; sold to present collection, 2009.
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