Skip to main content
1962-121, Chamber Pot
Chamber Pot
1962-121, Chamber Pot

Chamber Pot

Date1720-1740
MediumSalt-glazed stoneware
DimensionsOverall: 5 1/16 x 7 1/8 x 8 13/16in. (12.9 x 18.1 x 22.4cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1962-121
DescriptionChamber pot: gray salt-glazed stoneware with blue decoration. The piece encircled by molded designs of lions rampant outlined in cobalt and incised floral motifs.
Label TextBy about 1710, the decorative scheme for Westerwald chamber pots had become codified, and the formulaic pattern with sprig-applied crowned lions flanking incised rosette medallions (1962-121) was repeated throughout the remainder of the century. Standard gray and blue stoneware chamber pots of the eighteenth century are almost impossible to date definitively. Sometimes the lions are uncrowned or oval wreaths replace the medallions, but these variants are rare and their significance, if any, is currently unknown. Prosaic usage aside, there is persuasive evidence that chamber pots were pressed into service in a variety of other ways. In addition to being placed under bedsteads for nighttime convenience, these handy vessels also held artisans’ materials such as paint, size, and glue and household commodities like coal. Among the artifacts recovered from the excavation of Hay’s cabinetmaking shop in Williamsburg are two typical Westerwald chamber pots with dried residue from red and white paint still present. They likely were broken and discarded around 1765.
ProvenancePurchased from F. S. Thomas, London
DS1994-0528
1625-1650
D2006-CMD-1322
ca. 1850
Coffeepot 2016-22
1780-1800
2009 Record shot by C. Lafiandra. Chamber pot.
ca. 1815
D2006-CMD-1402
ca. 1725
Cream Pot 1975.900.4
1852-1854
Storage Jar 2015.900.9
ca. 1860
Cooler 2018.900.2
ca. 1825
Ball Belly Pitcher 2008-83
ca. 1630
Storage Jar 2009.900.1
1835 - 1845