Images(7)

Tankard

Dateca. 1780

OriginEngland, Staffordshire

MediumLead-glazed earthenware (cream-colored earthenware / creamware)

DimensionsOH: 4 15/16"; OL: 4 7/8" (including handle); OD: 3 3/8".

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2023-110

DescriptionTankard: straight-sided mug of cylindrical form with trimmed inset foot; plain extruded ear-shaped handle applied opposite the red transfer printed circular cartouche; the cartouche framed by a band of two concentric circles with a bow and ribbon at the top center and two swags of bellflowers radiating outward from either side of the bow in alternating directions; the words “GOD Save the KING.” within the band at the bottom of the circle flanked by scrolling flourishes; a transfer printed beaded border adjacent to the inner concentric line of the cartouche frame. Within the circular reserve, the following transfer printed verse between scrolling flourishes, “Tom Paine, why wilt thou meddling be / In others Bufinefs which concerns not thee, / For while thereon thou dost extent thy Cares / Thou doft at home neglect thy own Affairs”. The rim of tankard painted with a red band.
Label TextBritish Quaker staymaker turned political propogandist Thomas Paine moved from England to Philadelphia in 1774. He served as editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette and authored controversial pamphlets such as Common Sense and The American Crisis, the later often regarded as the first text to outwardly incite the American Revolution. His egalitarian and pro-democratic messages garnered him enemies and friends on both sides of the Atlantic. British detest for his writings was strong during the American and French Revolutions and can be seen in surviving material culture including tokens, prints, and ceramics such as this tankard, that poked fun at and ridiculed Paine and his stances.
InscribedThe words “GOD Save the KING.” within the band at the bottom of the cartouche. Within the circular reserve, the following verse, “Tom Paine, why wilt thou meddling be / In others Bufinefs which concerns not thee, / For while thereon thou dost extend thy Cares / Thou doft at home neglect thy own Affairs”.