Images(8)

Coffee Boiler

Dateca. 1850

OriginAmerica, Georgia, Crawford County

MediumAlkaline-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOverall: 10 1/8 × 7 1/4 × 7 1/4in. (25.7 × 18.4 × 18.4cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2021.900.1,a&b

DescriptionAlkaline-glazed stoneware coffee boiler: pear-shaped vessel with slightly flared rim and applied beak spout opposite applied strap handle; unglazed lid with button knop sits down within flared rim gallery.
Label TextStoneware from Crawford County, Georgia, is known for its rich alkaline glazes. This decorative technique may be traced to potters and potting families who practiced in South Carolina and brought this tradition with them. The coffee boiler form in stoneware seems to be particularly southern, turning up in South Carolina and Georgia primarily. The form closely relates to painted tin and graniteware prototypes. The stoneware examples seem to follow three shapes: bail-handled, spouted, and the shape of this example which is more akin to an oversized coffee jug.