Brown-glazed Rockingham pottery was first produced in England in the late 1700s. English potters immigrating to the United States beginning in the 1820s brought the technique with them to potteries in many locations, including Vermont, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland. Variations in the glazing formulas or application techniques could yield uniform browns, multicolored streaks or blotches, and a hard, brilliantly glossy surface. Rockingham-glazed wares were popular in the United States through the mid-1800s.

The paired standing lion figures with paws resting on spheres are derived from an ancient Roman prototype and a later copy, which together are now known as the Medici lions. Many manufacturers made ornamental figures based on the Medici lions.