Images(5)

Tea Canister

Date1848

Artist/Maker Ezra White (active 1848)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Mercer

MediumLead-glazed earthenware

Dimensions7 1/2" x 4 1/8" x 3 7/8" (19.1 cm. x 10.5 cm. x 9.9 cm.)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1976.900.2

DescriptionGlazed yellow earthenware 4-sided bottle or caddy. The main body of the caddy is slightly off-square, two parallel sides being slightly longer than the remaining two. The sides are arched, and about 2" of the caddy's height consists of rounded shoulder, neck, and lip. All four sides are decorated with different floral motifs, brushed on in dark brown glaze. There is a "thistle," a "sunflower", a "tulip" and something that looks remotely like an iris. The latter is the only design that does not appear on 76.900.3.
Label TextThis is one of two very similar containers in Colonial Williamsburg's folk art collection. Each bears a lengthy incised inscription on the bottom. The verse on this example reads "This is the can / To hold the tea / It holds enough / For you and me / Made by E, White / In Mercer March/22 AD 1848." The inscription on the other container identifies it as a "tea canister" and includes the short poem: "And now we hear / that there is peace / We do rejoice when / wars do cease." The latter verse most likely references the end of the Spanish American War since the date recorded was mere weeks after the conclusion of that conflict. Each canister has the same decorative motifs (a tulip, a sunflower, and a thistle) on each of three sides. Each fourth side carries a distinct motif; a stylized iris appears on this canister while a double weeping branch appears on the other.
InscribedIncised in script on the bottom is "This is the can / To hold the tea / It holds enough / For you and me / Made by E, White / In Mercer March / 22 AD 1848".
ProvenanceMaze Pottinger Antiques, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.