Thomas Allen (English, 1831–1915). <em>Longfellow Pitcher</em>, 1879. Glazed earthenware, transfer printed decoration, gilt, 6 11/16 x 8 7/8 x 6 1/8 in. (17.0 x 22.5 x 15.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 1991.38. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1991.38_view01_PS11.jpg)

Thomas Allen (English, 1831–1915). Longfellow Pitcher, 1879. Glazed earthenware, transfer printed decoration, gilt, 6 11/16 x 8 7/8 x 6 1/8 in. (17.0 x 22.5 x 15.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 1991.38. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1991.38_view01_PS11.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Longfellow Pitcher

Decorative Arts and Design

DESIGNER Thomas Allen, English, 1831–1915

MAKER Wedgwood and Sons, British, Staffordshire, 1759–present

MEDIUM Glazed earthenware, transfer printed decoration, gilt

Place Manufactured: Etruria, Staffordshire, England

DATES 1879

DIMENSIONS 6 11/16 x 8 7/8 x 6 1/8 in. (17.0 x 22.5 x 15.5 cm) (show scale)

MARKINGS printed on the bottom in black: "Manufactured by Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Etruria / For / Richard Briggs / Boston / Register in Great Britain / and France / Also in the / United States." impressed: "O / WXH" "WEDGWOOD", hand painted in orange: "33920 / (indistinct)"

SIGNATURE no signature

INSCRIPTIONS no inscriptions

COLLECTIONS Decorative Arts and Design

ACCESSION NUMBER 1991.38

CREDIT LINE Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Pitcher. Glazed earthenware with black transfer printed decoration with green, brown, pink, orange and gilt polychrome. Squat globular body with narrow convex band foot; straight sided neck, applied elongated handle and spout. Black bust of bearded male figure, Longfellow, in oval frame of alternating small black stars and three short gilt striations. Shoulder decorated with continuous band of alternating small orange stars and three dot clusters. Handle with brown underside and continuous dense band of truncated papyrus motif in black and orange to upper side. Neck with continuous dense floral band of pink and orange flowers on green ground with superimposed diagonals containing poems and heroes by Longfellow. Above portrait bust, left to right: "Excelsior"; "Hiawatha"; "Evangeline"; "Miles Standish". Side opposite portrait bust with black printed scene of potter at wheel with pot, paired conventionalized flowers above. At center excerpt from poem "KERAMOS" (labeled above): "Turn, turn my wheel! Turn round and round and / Without a pause without a sound; / So spins the flying world away! / This clay, well mixed with marl and sand, / Follows the motion of my hand; / For some must follow and some command. / Though all are made of clay". To right, vertical floral panel with black ground. Below, ribbon illusionistically wraps two long potter's tools. On neck above: "Golden Legend"; Tales of a Wayside Inn"; Psalm of Life". Condition: The majority of the surface of the brown glaze on the spout is worn away. The ceramic is stained in areas. The surfaces are dirty.

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Thomas Allen (English, 1831–1915). Longfellow Pitcher, 1879. Glazed earthenware, transfer printed decoration, gilt, 6 11/16 x 8 7/8 x 6 1/8 in. (17.0 x 22.5 x 15.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 1991.38. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1991.38_view01_PS11.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 1991.38_view01_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2022

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Collection Menu

Longfellow Pitcher

Decorative Arts and Design

RELATED OBJECTS