About this artwork
Beginning in the mid-18th century, English manufacturers introduced yellow-bodied pottery with mottled brown glazing, commonly known as Rockingham ware, to the United States market. By the 1840s, factories in America, aided by English immigrant craftsmen, were producing the pottery to great success. Two of the most notable American makers of Rockingham ware were located in Bennington, Vermont, where potteries had existed since at least 1785, but there were also manufacturers in New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, and elsewhere. Responding to the utilitarian needs of America’s middle class, these potteries produced a large range of objects, from spittoons to inkwells, snuffboxes to pitchers, and candlesticks to doorknobs.
Lyman, Fenton, and Company modeled snuff jars such as this one loosely after a beloved English form known as a Toby Fillpot or Philpot. These jugs were usually modeled as a seated figure in 18th-century dress with a cup in one hand and a pitcher in the other. In this transformation of the English jug into an American snuff jar, the hat, or mouth, of the vessel has been turned into a lid.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- Lyman, Fenton & Co.
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Title
- Snuff Jar
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Place
- Bennington (Object made in)
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Date
- c. 1849–1852
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Medium
- Earthenware
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Inscriptions
- Mark impressed on bottom: "Lyman, Fenton & Co./Bennington/Fenton's/Enamel/Patent/1849"
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Dimensions
- 10.4 × 9.1 cm (4 1/8 × 3 9/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Amelia Blanxius Collection, gift of Emma B. Hodge and Jene E. Bell
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Reference Number
- 1912.959
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/67447/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.