Flower Container (Boughpot)

Public Domain

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CultureEnglish

Titles

Flower Container (Boughpot)

Datec. 1805–1815

Possible placeEngland

MediumLead-glazed earthenware (lusterware)

Dimensions5 × 8 × 3 1/8 in. (12.7 × 20.3 × 7.9 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Mrs. F. L. Andrews

Object numberB.70.74.A,.B

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Ceramics Study Room

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

CERAMICS

DescriptionThough the technique was centuries old, production of shiny, metallic lusterware began in Staffordshire near the end of the 1700s. Potters applied metallic oxides to the glazed and fired wares, and then fixed the metallic layer with another firing at a lower temperature. Platinum oxide produced silver luster; gold oxide produced gold, bronze, or copper luster effects. The luster could be applied freehand, with the use of stencils and resist patterns, and with mottled or blotchy effects. This boughpot would have held cut sprays of flowering shrubs or small blossom-bearing branches of trees, placed through holes in the cover. They were often used near the hearth or on a mantelpiece.
ProvenanceMrs. F. L. Andrews, Houston; given to MFAH, 1970.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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