Pitcher
Probably South Amboy, New Jersey
1855-1865
Maker
Probably Charles Coxon Pottery, South Amboy, New Jersey (1858–1860)
Measurements
7-7/8 in x 7-7/8 in x 6-1/2 in
Materials
Brown-glazed yellow earthenware (Rockingham ware)
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, anonymous gift
Accession Number
2020.68
Condition Notes
The pitcher has three glaze chips: one on the lower hound's back, one above it on a raised floral vine, and one near the top of the handle.
Comments
This slip-cast pitcher is covered in a mottled brown glaze producing a ceramic known broadly in the 19th century as Rockingham ware, acknowledging the Rockingham Pottery in England where such wares were produced at an early time. The antiques marketplace now often calls this ware "Bennington pottery," referencing a prominent pottery in that Vermont city, but this kind of pottery was made in great volumes elsewhere--Trenton, Jersey City, Baltimore, Ohio, and Connecticut, to name some.
The pitcher has a relief image of a hunt that encircles the body. One side shows two mounted riders against a wooded background. The other has two hounds in full stride chasing a stag. Vines and foliage ornament the top of the body, and the twig or branch handle reinforces the theme. An identical pitcher is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (acc. no. 2008-25-34). They provide maker identification but do not supply historical evidence.