Cup Plate
This blue and white transfer-printed earthenware cup plate made by the Staffordshire firm of Enoch Wood & Sons features a view of Castle Garden and Battery Park in New York with Castle Williams in the background. The view belongs to a small series of three American views with trefoil borders produced for the United States export market. Castle Garden, known as Southwest Battery until 1815 and Castle Clinton until 1824, was built from 1807 to 1811 after designs by New York architects John McComb, Jr. (1763–1853) and Jonathan Williams (1750–1815) as a naval fortification for the defense of New York Harbor during the War of 1812. It was connected by foot bridge to Battery Park, where the English had stationed guns during the American Revolutionary War. In 1823 Congress donated Castle Garden to the city and the main building became a public entertainment hall. Subsequently it was converted to an immigration station in 1855 and to an aquarium in 1896 until it was demolished in 1941. Castle Williams, seen in the distant left corner of the view, was a fortification on Governor's Island also built from 1807 to 1811 after designs by Williams to house three tiers of guns to protect the harbor. The structure was commonly known as the "cheese box" because of its circular shape. It housed confederate prisoners during the Civil War and was used earlier in this century as United States Army disciplinary barracks and United States Coast Guard headquarters. As the better known of the two fortifications, Castle Garden was frequently depicted on nineteenth-century transfer-printed export wares.
Artwork Details
- Title: Cup Plate
- Maker: Enoch Wood & Sons (British, active Burslem, 1818–46)
- Date: ca. 1841–ca. 1846
- Geography: Made in Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, England
- Culture: British (American market)
- Medium: Earthenware, transfer-printed
- Dimensions: Diam. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Abraham Lansing, 1912
- Object Number: 12.21.7
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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Enoch Wood & Sons (British, active Burslem, 1818–46)
19th century
Enoch Wood & Sons (British, active Burslem, 1818–46)
19th century
Enoch Wood & Sons (British, active Burslem, 1818–46)
19th century
Probably made at Enoch Wood & Sons (British, active Burslem, 1818–46) (factory)
19th century
Enoch Wood & Sons (British, active Burslem, 1818–46)
19th century
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