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 contours of this vase closely echo those made in pressed and cut glass. Nineteenth-century manufacturers in the United States adapted the simple paneled form to many shapes and profiles to create objects in ceramics, glass, silver, and other media ranging from light fixtures to coffeepots.