A Beautiful 18th Century Object Owned by Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts

Historic Deerfield's annual Columbus Day Weekend antiques show in Deerfield, Massachusetts will happen this weekend on Saturday October 10th and Sunday October 11th. I visited the museum's Flynt Center last year when I attended the antiques show - the Flynt Center is where a large concentration of the museum's historical antiques collection is kept, which includes red earthenware and stoneware. Although, there is also a strong emphasis, as a whole, devoted to the American decorative arts field from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

Today, I thought I would show one of my favorite objects that is currently on display in the Flynt Center. The museum identifies this beautiful object as a product that was made at the Donyatt Pottery in Somerset, England, which is located southwest of London, England. The wares made in Somerset can often be mistaken today for similar wares that were made in North Devon, England, which is located southwest of Somerset.

According to Historic Deerfield, "This large slipware tyg is decorated with four curled top-loop handles. The slip, which has turned yellow, has been sprinkled with ground copper to produce the overall mottled green pattern on both the outside and the inside. The cup is covered with freely drawn stylized sgraffito decoration consisting of three tulips and a bird on the four areas between the handles, over each of which is an inscription and the date, '1774.'

The four inscriptions are 'G W B 1774' (for who the bowl was inscribed where 'G' is probably the first letter of their married name and 'W B' the letters of the first name of the husband and the wife, and the date of the marriage); 'of liquor both neat and fine/ to fill me full is your desire 1774'; 'the gift is small/ love is all 1774', and 'love and live happy 1774'. 

Donyatt sgraffito ware, as is typical of the southwest of England, often have symbolic decorative motifs such as tulips, hearts, and birds. Some of these are similar to the decoration of northern Europe and Pennsylvania German folk pottery. The hour handles on this communal drinking vessel allowed it to be grasped from the center of the table by any of the guests."

18th Century Slip Decorated Sgraffito Earthenware Tyg

Dated 1774

Attributed to the Donyatt Pottery in Somerset, England

Stands 6 1/4" Tall

Measures 11 1/4" Wide

Photo Courtesy: The Flynt Center, Historic Deerfield - Deerfield, MA

Another View of the Tyg

Photo Courtesy: The Flynt Center, Historic Deerfield - Deerfield, MA

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...