Platter, "Niagara from the American Side"
Decorative Arts and Design
Even an object as mundane as a platter for serving food can be infused with a sense of place. Transfer-printed earthenware was made in England specifically for sale to American consumers. Here, Niagara Falls, an image of the grandeur and power of the continent, transforms a practical object into an evocative statement of pride in place. The blue-and-white palette makes reference to Asian ceramics, such as the example shown nearby, which had been imported for centuries but had not been successfully imitated until the decades immediately before the English piece was made.
MEDIUM
Earthenware
DATES
ca. 1829–1846
DIMENSIONS
14 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (37.5 x 29.2 cm)
(show scale)
MARKINGS
On underside: printed in blue underglaze, eagle and shield with "E Pluribus Unum" in banner above and "Niagara From the American Side" on band below; impressed circular mark with eagle and "E. Wood & Sons Burslem Warranted Semichina".
ACCESSION NUMBER
63.186.17
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Mrs. William C. Esty
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Platter, dark blue transfer-printed earthenware, oval with chamfered corners. Border: Shells. View in center: Niagara Falls from the American side with bank of trees in foreground, man and woman in center, and Niagara Falls and surrounding landscape in middle distance and background. Source of view: possibly an engraving published by H. Gaugain in "Itinéraire Pittoresque du Fleuve Hudson" (1828-29) from a sketch by J. Milbert.
Condition: very good to excellent
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Enoch Wood & Sons (active 1818–1846). Platter, "Niagara from the American Side," ca. 1829–1846. Earthenware, 14 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (37.5 x 29.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. William C. Esty, 63.186.17. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 63.186.17_PS9.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 63.186.17_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum, 2020
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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