Images(11)

Coffeepot

Dateca. 1820

Maker Unidentified

OriginEngland, Staffordshire

MediumLead-glazed red earthenware (copper lusterware)

DimensionsOL (handle to spout): 9 7/8 in.; OD (widest point): 5 1/2 in.; OH (with lid): 9 3/16 in.; H (top of handle): 8 7/16 in.; H (top of pot): 8 3/16 in.

Credit LineGift of Jerry Dalton and Christopher Duvall

Object number2020-113,A&B

DescriptionMolded copper (gold) luster coffeepot of lead-glazed red earthenware: spreading pedestal foot supports ribbed urn- or vase-shaped body. The stepped and sloping shoulder rises to a reeded gallery and the pot topped by a domed ribbed lid with an acorn knop. The molded c-scroll handle with a juncture where insulators would appear on a metal example of this form. The s-shaped spout is smooth and terminates in a cut-out beak. The coffeepot is unmarked.
Label TextCopper luster decoration is achieved through the use of gold suspended in an acid and tar mixture that is fired on a refined red earthenware body. The mixture dissipates in the kiln adhering the gold to the body and resulting in the copper-colored appearance when fired on the red earthenware body.

Lusterware in copper and silver was available throughout early 19th century America and turns up in newspapers, shipping accounts, inventories, and the archaeological record. Its popularity rose with westward expansion: as Kentucky and Tennessee were settled, it became a conscious choice among some consumers there.

This coffeepot and Colonial Williamsburg's silver luster (2013-33) example illustrate the often misunderstood technological innovation of luster decoration as it was perfected by British potters in the early 19th century.