About this artwork
Little is known about the potter of this plate, Rudolph Drach. The artist’s grandfather Rudolph Drach was among seventy-seven Palatinate Germans who, along with their families, arrived in Philadelphia on August 29, 1730, and he eventually settled in Bucks County. This plate, made in 1792 according to the incised inscription, was originally in the collection of Edwin Atlee Barber and was illustrated in his Tulip Ware of the Pennsylvania-German Potters (1903). Sgraffito decoration–the act of incising the surface to reveal the clay body beneath–characterizes many of the ceramics created in Bucks County in the Pennsylvania German tradition. Such pottery features exuberant colors and ornamentation through traditional decorative motifs, including the bird, tulip, and star shapes that decorate this plate.
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On View
- American Art, Gallery 1
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Artist
- Rudolph Drach
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Title
- Plate
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Origin
- Pennsylvania
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Date
- 1792
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Medium
- Earthenware
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Inscriptions
- Incised across upper edge: "rudolf drach hefner in badminster daunschile 1792" [Rudolf Drach. potter, in Bedminster township, 1792]
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Dimensions
- 4.8 ✕ 28.7 × 28.7 cm (1 7/8 ✕ 11 5/16 ✕ 11 5/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Field Museum Exchange
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Reference Number
- 1907.122
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 .
