Large Pitcher with Floral and Gold Decoration
Tucker Factories, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (active 1826–38)
Porcelain, partially painted and gilded
8 1/2 in. high (at the handle)
Inscribed (in gold, on body under spout): C
The Tucker Factories that operated in Philadelphia in the years 1826–38 were the first moderately successful manufacturers of porcelain in the United States. They produced a wide variety of table and ornamental wares inspired by French and English porcelain of the early nineteenth century.
This pitcher is of a shape that has variously been described as “Walker,” or “Grecian.” A design for pitchers of this form is included in the so-called “Monochrome Pattern Book” of 1832–38 in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Tucker China 1825–1838, exhib. cat. [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1957], p. 30 plate XIII). The present pitcher is identical in design to a pair formerly in the renowned collection of Tucker formed by Philip H. Hammerslough (Tucker China, p. 10 plate VI illus. at top), which have the same elaborate floral decoration on the front and back, a vintage border in gold around the neck, a lyre and leaves under the spout, and a cartouche on the body under the spout, in this instance with the initial “c.”