Gift Cup
PeriodCirca 1810 - 1820
Place MadeEngland
MediumWhite earthenware
Dimensions1.88 × 2.25 in. (4.8 × 5.7 cm)
InscribedTwo handwritten labels are glued to the cup's underside, reading "883/J.B.M. Jr," and "883/J. B. Morris, Jr."
ClassificationsEarthenware
Credit LineGift of J. B. Morris, Jr. 1957
Object number1979.501.108
DescriptionA child's gift cup of white earthenware, with a cylindrical body and applied handle. The cup features a black transfer print depicting a seated mother with a little girl leaning on her lap, in a bucolic landscape within an oval. The image is bordered along the bottom with a leafy vine, and the motto "A Present for my dear girl" above. A narrow pink luster glaze band encircles the cup's rim.Curatorial RemarksBy the early nineteenth century, child-related consumer goods experienced a surge in both availability and popularity. The ceramics centers of England produced a wide variety of child-sized cups, plates, and related objects. Gift cups were particularly popular. these small-sized vessels, sized for little hands, were relatively simple and featured transfer prints of animals, pretty scenes, alphabets, and uplifting sentiments. Many were personalized with common children's names such as Ann, William, Nancy, and Robert. Luster glaze striping, highlighting, and banding provided additional decoration. In some instances, hand-painted blobs of color were added after the initial transfer print was applied. The invention of and improvements upon the process of transfer printing provided an inexpensive and easily duplicated method of applying decoration to initial glazed ceramic wares. A steel plate was engraved with design or image, then inked. Damp tissue paper was then laid atop the plate, then run through a press. The tissue was then trimmed and applied to the surface of the green-fired clay body, and rubbed to ensure ink transfer. After the tissue was removed, the ceramic vessel was fired again to fix the image. Many inexpensive transfer ware pieces include small areas where the tissue paper creased or the ink did not fully transfer to the clay.
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