Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Coffeepot
ca. 1770
Maker not researched
England
Red-glazed stoneware
a: 6.25"h x 6.5"w spout to handle; .75" diam base. b: 2.625" diam. rim, 2.125 diam. base, 2.25" high
Special Acquisitions Fund
91.025.13a-b

Coffeepot; a: coffeepot: pear-shaped body with wavy engine-turned decoration; square simulated Chinese seal mark on base; leaf atop handle; b: lid: dome shape with finial; engine-turned steam hole through center of finial.

In the late 1770s, potteries in England sought to attract customers with new and different forms of decoration. This ornamentation could take the form of novel colors, different kinds of surface decoration, or, as in the case of this coffee pot, an interesting texture. Craftsmen used an engine-turned lathe to cut the pattern of slightly wavy lines on this coffee pot before it was glazed and fired in a kiln. "Invention and Innovation in the Decorative Arts" June 2016 - ongoing