Worcester Porcelain Manufactory
Dry Mustard Pot

CultureEnglish
Titles
  • Dry Mustard Pot
Datec. 1758
Made inWorcester, England
MediumSoft-paste porcelain
Dimensionso/a: 5 1/8 × 2 1/8 × 2 1/8 inches (13.0 × 5.4 × 5.4 cm)
.A pot: 3 × 2 1/8 × 2 1/8 inches (7.6 × 5.4 × 5.4)
.B lid: 1 15/16 × 1 7/8 × 1 7/8 inches (4.9 × 4.8 × 4.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Rienzi Collection, museum purchase funded by Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III
Object number92.447.A,.B
Current Location
Rienzi
Gallery
On view

Explore Further

Department
Rienzi
Object Type
Description

Locally produced mustard was a popular staple in 18th-century English households. Many porcelain factories produced dry-mustard pots for storage and service at the dining table, and the Rienzi Collection contains a rare example made by Worcester Porcelain Manufactory, which paired the dry-mustard pot form with Asian decoration.


For much of its history, London was the center of England's spice trade, supplying both rare and common spices for the upper and middle classes. Beginning in the early 1400s, mustard could be produced locally rather than being imported, and it became one of the least expensive and most widely available spices. Worcester and other porcelain factories responded by making mustard pots. This pot features asymmetrically scrolling vines and flowers rendered in a Chinese color palette called famille rose, and the lid is decorated with a flying stork, the Chinese symbol of longevity.


Provenance[Simon Spero, London, private collection, U.K., October, 1992]; purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Harris Masterson III; given to MFAH, 1992.
Exhibition HistoryEX COLL: Woman collector living in Southestern England (per Simon Spero)

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription: Labeled on base, blue ink on white sticker: "2926 T900/ WORCESTER/ c 1755-56/ £8400/ (in red ink) 24" labeled on top of white sticker with circular orange sticker marked: "KH"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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