Water Cooler
MakerMade by
N & A Seymour
American, 1824 - 1842
Date1824-1842
MediumWheel-thrown stoneware with a salt glaze, brown slip glaze, and cobalt blue decoration
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x diameter): 16 1/2 x 11in. (41.9 x 27.9cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
DescriptionGrey, ovoid, stoneware water cooler with a salt glaze on the exterior, and a brown slip glaze, or Albany-type glaze, on the interior. The water cooler has a thick collar at the rim, sloping shoulders, and an ovoid body that tapers to a flat bottom. Two pulled strap handles, each on opposite sides of the water cooler, connect the rim to the shoulders. Hand-painted cobalt blue has been applied at each end of each handle. To one side, between the handles, is an impressed mark, "N&A SEYMOUR/ ROME". Above the mark is an incised bird, grass, and flower, all sitting on an incised horizontal bar. Below the mark is a finely incised pair of flowers with curving stems and leaves. All the incised decoration and the mark are filled in with cobalt blue. There is an incised "X" in the surface of the water cooler to the right of the mark, almost beneath the handle. Below the mark, near the bottom edge of the water cooler, is a round hole and an applied, projecting, square stoneware piece. This is also hand-painted in cobalt blue. There are many slight imperfections and kiln marks in the glaze on the exterior of the water cooler. A double piece of twisted yarn, probably made from plant material, circles each of the handles.
There is a small chip in the projecting piece near the base of the water cooler. There is a chip in the handle to the left of the mark, and a small chip in the surface of the stoneware to the lower left of that same handle. There is crazing over all the exterior glazed surfaces of the water cooler.
There is a small chip in the projecting piece near the base of the water cooler. There is a chip in the handle to the left of the mark, and a small chip in the surface of the stoneware to the lower left of that same handle. There is crazing over all the exterior glazed surfaces of the water cooler.
Object number2005.48.0
MarkingsTo one side, between the handles, is an impressed maker's mark, "N&A SEYMOUR/ ROME". There is an incised "X" in the surface of the water cooler to the right of the mark, almost beneath the handle.NotesMaker Note: Norman Seymour (1782-1859) and Ardon Seymour (b. 1790) worked as potters together in Rome, New York. They were the sons of Norman Seymour (1752-1796), who was a second cousin to Nathaniel Seymour (1763-1849), the West Hartford, Connecticut, potter.Subject Terms
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