Chocolate pot

1735-1750

Measurements

7-1/4 in x 5-1/8 in x 4-7/8 in (bottom dia is 3-7/8 in)

Materials

Enameled porcelain

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation

Accession Number

2024.32

Inscription

A printed label of the “James E. Sowell / Collection” with an inked number "P066" in the center is applied to the outside bottom.

Provenance

Ex coll. James E. Sowell

Comments

The tall, tapered pot has an S shaped spout with octagonal sides.  The spout has three small holes in the wall of the pot where it attaches to the body.  The resulting sieve filters out chunks of chocolate when the contents are poured.  A simple strap handle is applied to the body at a right angle to the spout, which is a common feature of 18th century chocolate pots.  A flange on the bottom of the domed lid with a two-stage finial keeps it centered on the body.  

The chocolate pot is richly decorated in blue, red, pink, green, rust, and white.  Four quatrefoil panels, outlined in gilt, enclose sprays of pink flowers.  The pink enamel, applied over the glazed porcelain, is a particular color that collectors have come to call "famille rose."  Elsewhere, white and pick flowers show against a blue and white filigree ground.  The lid has a diapered pink band.  The inside and the outside bottom of the pot is glazed in white.  The foot on which the pot stands is chamfered and unglazed, as characteristic of Chinese porcelains.

Chocolate pots are rare forms, reflecting the cost of chocolate.