Sugar bowl

Status

Not on view

Label Text

Inspired by the ancient pottery of Egypt, Greece, and Italy, black-bodied teawares were popular throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This sugar bowl was once believed to have belonged to Martha Washington, but its form in fact dates to a later period.

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Date1820-1860

Geography Made - England

Medium/TechniqueStoneware

DimensionsOverall: 3 7/8 in. x 4 3/8 in. x 4 3/8 in. (9.86 cm x 11.13 cm x 11.13 cm) Other (Top of bowl): 3 3/8 in. x 3 3/8 in. (8.59 cm x 8.59 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Nathaniel Thayer, Vice Regent for Massachusetts, 1933

Object numberW-756

DescriptionCircular, glazed black sugar bowl with concave neck and bulging waist on short, circular footrim; body ornamented with sprig-molded decoration on a small-scale diaper background; at the center of each side is a large arabesque motif consisting of two opposed leafy scrolls, joined at the center and supporting a floral medallion outlined in beading with an acanthus flourish above; the two larger motifs are flanked by smaller arabesques featuring a beaded floral medallion with a fleur-de-lis emerging above and below; beaded rim and shoulder; shallow lip inside mouth for lid; a band of diaper-patterned ground around neck; a smudge of red paint is found on one side of the waist; rim chipped on one side; deeply incised concentric circles within the footrim; missing lid.
Published References

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