Sweetmeat Dish
MakerProbably made by
Staffordshire potteries
(English, 17th century-present)
Original OwnerOriginally owned by the
Timothy Dodd family
Dateabout 1820-1830
MediumMold-formed buff-colored earthenware with a blue-tinted glaze and underglaze cobalt blue decoration
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width x depth): 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 7 5/8in. (16.5 x 21.6 x 19.4cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineGift of Mary F. Lord and Katherine L. Lord
Object number1938.24.32
DescriptionBuff-colored earthenware sweetmeat dish with a blue-tinted glaze, a type of ceramic known as pearlware. The sweetmeat dish consists of a rectangular tray with a vertical rim that sits on a flared foot. A verticle handle emerges from the center of the tray, with a fleur de lis-shaped finial at the top. The sweetmeat dish is decorated with a transfer-printed underglaze cobalt blue pattern and border. The flared foot is decorated at the edge with a border that consists of a row of semi-circles with shells inside. This same border is repeated on the inside and outside edges of the rim on the tray. The primary decoration on the tray is a pattern in the Italian style. The pattern shows an arched bridge crossing a river with a castle on the shore. There are three cows in the foreground and a small village in the far left background. The handle is applied in the center of the tray and has a rectangular base that supports the fleur de lis finial. A portion of the handle and all of the finial is decorated with a pattern of dark blue stars on a field of lighter blue. One corner of the rim of the tray is chipped, and there are light scratches on the surface of the dish. A very small chip is missing from one corner of the handle.
NotesObject Note: This sweetmeat dish was traditionally known as a "pickle dish". A pickle dish was used for serving pickles, a term used to describe sweetmeats and spices in the nineteenth century. This dish is part of an incomplete "pickle set". It would have had four smaller dishes, which would actually hold the sweetmeats, that rested inside the tray. (Hunt 12/1/2004)Status
Not on view
