Storage Jar
J. S. Taft and Company, Keene, New Hampshire, American, active 1871 - 1880
about 1875
Salt-glazed stoneware with cobalt floral spray decoration, Albany slip interior
Overall: 13 in. (33 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Richard J. Giarrusso, Class of 1966
C.987.49
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Pottery
Research Area
Decorative Arts
On view
Inscriptions
Impressed about decoration on side: J. S. TAFT & CO./ KEENE, N. H./ 3
Label
Abstraction pre-dates American paintings from the 1950s, often appearing in pottery by Native American and non-Native artists. The cobalt blue floral sprig on this food storage jar is not functionally necessary but provides visual interest to an otherwise utilitarian item. Made in Keene, New Hampshire, this jar provided a hygienic and inexpensive method of preserving dry goods when sealed with a lid.
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 Folk Art at the Hood Museum of Art (a thematic partial permanent gallery installation); Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, July 16, 2015.
Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 18, 2024 - late 2025.
Provenance
Richard J. Giarrusso, Syracuse, New York; given to present collection, 1987.
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