Description

Glass and Porcelain
“Seal of the United States” Liverpool Creamware Pitcher
c. 1800, Historic Liverpool Creamware Pitcher, Canary Yellow Color, with Black Tranfers Including, “Seal of the United States E PLURIBUS UNUM,” England, Choice Very Fine.
Very Rare, original 4.75” high x 3” base, Canary Yellow pitcher with three transfer prints: “E PLURIBUS UNUM” slogan on a banner being held in the beak of a heraldic eagle with patriotic shield, and stars. This transfer is similar to the one listed as S.38 on page 169 of Arman’s “Anglo-American Ceramics, Part I” (1998). The opposite side has “SUCCESS to the UNITED STATES of AMERICA PLURIBUS UNUM” flanked by a two headed eagle and warrior with a bow, and an American Flag flying above. This transfer is similar to the one listed as S.80 on page 182 of Arman’s book. Under the spout is flower transfer. This pitcher was most likely produced by Enoch Wood and Sons, England. Minor wear to the base, some wear to silver trim at top edge. A lovely example of this great rarity in Canary Yellow Color for display.
Liverpool Creamware is the name generally given to pottery produced in England during the mid-18th and early19th-century by potters who were obsessed with the idea of copying Chinese porcelain--considered to be the highest quality ceramic available. Certain potters, such as Josiah Wedgewood, Thomas Whieldon and Josiah Spode, made improvements to the existing earthenwares, which they named “Creamware” (or in Wedgewood’s case “Queensware”). This thin earthenware was dipped into a clear glaze, which combined with the natural impurities of the clay to give the ware a creamy, pale yellow tint. Creamware is readily identifiable as a pottery having a cream-colored body and a perfectly clear glaze. The earliest transfer prints were applied over the glazes of the creamware, a practice which continued well into the 19th century. The dates of production of Liverpool creamware ran from 1760 to 1820, with the Revolutionary War figures and events predominant. Normally all of the transfer prints were done in black, with the exceptions of a very few pieces found with transfers in red, rust, carmine, sepia, lavender, or green. The latter three are really quite rare. Certain Liverpool potters made it a practice to embellish the black transfers with a variety of hand-applied enamels in red, blue, green, yellow and brown. (See Arman, p. 11-21).