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Pitcher

Manufacturer French Manufacturer American
ca. 1853–60
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
Haughwout & Daily, later E.V. Haughwout & Company, was the nation's oldest and largest retailer of ceramics and glass. As the first retail establishment in the country with an in-house china-decorating department, Haughwout employed numerous painters and gilders, predominantly female. Most retailers owned or had interests in porcelain factories in France. Accordingly, Haughwout & Daily's decorators painted primarily on French porcelain blanks. This pitcher depicts the seal of the United States on one side and a colorful floral bouquet on the other. Haughwout promoted this design as a presidential china pattern at the New York Crystal Palace exhibition of 1853. Although President Franklin Pierce selected another pattern, Mrs. Lincoln chose this one in 1861. However, she asked Haughwout to replace the bright blue border with the fashionable purplish red known as Solferino. Gilded coral-like motifs, seen to either side of the great seal, are characteristic of Haughwout & Daily's decoration.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pitcher
  • Manufacturer: French Manufacturer
  • Decorator: Haughwout & Daily (1852–1854)
  • Date: ca. 1853–60
  • Geography: Made in New York, New York, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Porcelain, overglaze enamel decoration, and gilding
  • Dimensions: 9 5/8 x 9 1/4 x 6 3/16 in. (24.4 x 23.5 x 15.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: Friends of the American Wing Fund, 1996
  • Object Number: 1996.560
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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