Pickleherring Pottery
Posset Pot

Public Domain

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Images(3)

MakerProbably Pickleherring Pottery(English, c. 1618–1723)English, c. 1618–1723

Pottery owner Christian Wilhelm(d. 1630)English, c. 1618–1723

Pottery owner Thomas Townsend(active 1630–c. 1645)English, c. 1618–1723

CultureEnglish

Titles

Posset Pot

Datec. 1628–1635

Made inLondon, England

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delftware)

Dimensions8 × 9 5/8 × 7 1/2 in. (20.3 × 24.4 × 19.1 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Katharine Prentis Murphy

Object numberB.59.128.A,.B

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Ceramics Study Room

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

CERAMICS

DescriptionEuropean tin-glazed earthenware imitating Chinese blue and white ceramics gained popularity in the 17th and 18th century as cheaper and more easily accessible alternatives. Christian Wilhelm established the Pickleherring Pottery, which in 1628 received a monopoly to produce tin-glazed earthenware. The pottery is best known for the “bird-on-rock” designs, possibly a loose adaptation of delicate floral and scroll designs on Chinese porcelains of the Ming Dynasty. Posset was a hot drink of milk or cream, eggs, wine or ale, sugar, and spices. Now all but forgotten, this relative of custard and eggnog was popular in the 1600s and 1700s, sometimes shared as part of celebrations, and sometimes taken as a remedy. The posset pot allowed one to drink the liquid by sucking it through the spout.
ProvenanceKatharine Prentis Murphy (1882–1967); given to MFAH, by 1966.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

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Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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