Platter

MakerMade by John & George Alcock (English, 1839 - 1846)

RetailerSold by James Tams & Co. (American, mid 19th century)

Date1839-1846

MediumDrape-molded earthenware with green transfer-printed decoration

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (width x depth): 17 5/8 x 13 3/4in. (44.8 x 34.9cm)

ClassificationsCeramics

Credit LineBequest of Annie M. Johnson

DescriptionRectangular earthenware platter with green transfer-printed decoration in the "Roscius" pattern. The "Roscius" pattern consists of a loose grouping of flowers, including roses, in the center of the platter. The border, found at the rim of the platter, consists of a dense series of swagged leaves and abstract shapes inspired by neoclassical forms.

Object number1927.16.10

NotesMaker Note: The impressed mark on the bottom of the platter refers to John & George Alcock of Cobridge, manufacturing earthenwares between 1839 and 1846, one of the Staffordshire Potteries in Staffordshire, England (now Stoke-on-Trent). The platter bears a second transfer-printed mark that refers to the name of the pattern, "Roscius," and James Tams & Co. of Philadelphia. James Tams is most likely one of many nineteenth-century English immigrants to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Trenton, New Jersey, areas who had been connected with the Staffordshire Potteries in England. James Tams was most likely a merchant who imported the earthenwares of John & George Alcock for sale in Philadelphia. An individual by the name of Tams is associated with the 1868 founding of the Greenwood Pottery in Trenton, New Jersey. This could be James Tams or a relative associated with the Staffordshire Potteries at one time. (Hunt 7/23/2004)

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