Ointment Pot

Dateca. 1750 - 1785

MediumWhite salt-glazed stoneware

DimensionsH: 2"; D: 2 7/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1960-297

DescriptionOintment pot: low cylindrical foot supports deep rounded bowl with rolled rim.
Label TextOintment pots were usually made of tin-glazed earthenware or delft, but white salt-glazed stoneware examples have been found at many post-1750 American archaeological sites. These small containers held a variety of salves and
pomades used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes; their rolled rims allowed the contents to be protected by thin bladders or papers held in place with string.

Ointment pots were usually made of tin-glazed earthenware or delft, but white stoneware examples have also been found at many post-1750 American archaeological sites. These small containers held a variety of salves and pomades used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes; their rolled rims allowed the contents to be protected by thin bladders or papers held in place with string. Little has been written about this form in stoneware, although some examples have been published as toys without discussion of their function. In keeping with the increasing trend toward better personal hygiene, wash basins and tall bulbous water bottles made of delft begin to appear in America by about 1725.89 By midcentury they were also found in white stoneware in written
documents and at archaeological sites. The basin form is distinguished from a punch bowl by its rolled or flared everted rim that allowed these vessels to be suspended within the circular openings of washstands.***
ProvenanceVendor: Tilley & Co., London

Exhibition(s)