E. & W. Bennett
Shaving Mug

MakerAmerican, active 1848–1856
ModelerAmerican, 1805–1868
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Shaving Mug
Datec. 1850–1855
Made inBaltimore, Maryland, United States
MediumLead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
Dimensions4 3/8 × 4 3/8 × 5 1/4 in. (11.1 × 11.1 × 13.3 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.57.24
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Maple Bedroom
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

With the increasing use of the pitcher and basin for personal hygiene within the American home in the early nineteenth century (see B.57.32, B.57.31, and B.2013.22), the need lessened for the large barber's basin, designed to hold water and to catch the soap and whiskers removed when shaving. About 1830 the shaving mug—a new, smaller, more easily handled form—was introduced. The straight-sided beverage mug was adapted, and a compartment was added to hold the shaving soap, occasionally on the outside or more commonly inside the lip (as seen on the present example). The Bennett design, with the relief ornament on each side, evokes the Toby form.

Related examples: Barret 1958, p. 97, pl. 134; Goldberg 1994, pp. 37, 60, figs. 8, 21, the latter illustrates a New Jersey example also modeled by Coxon.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


Provenance[George S. McKearin, Hoosick Falls, New York]; [George Abraham and Gilbert May Antiques, West Granville, Massachusetts]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1957; given to MFAH, by 1966.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
Inscribed on underside: E. & W. BENNETT / CANTON AVENUE / BALTIMORE MD. [Barber 1976a, p. 143]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Pitcher
E. & W. Bennett
c. 1850–1856
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.57.23
Pitcher
E. & W. Bennett
c. 1850–1856
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.63.14
Mug
E. & W. Bennett
c. 1850–1855
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.2013.22
Teapot
E. & W. Bennett
c. 1850–1852
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.57.22.A,.B
Pitcher
c. 1849–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.57.48
Toby Jug
Lyman, Fenton & Co.
c. 1849–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.57.49
Mug
c. 1845–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.63.114
Mug
c. 1844–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.57.38
Pitcher
c. 1855–1875
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.63.17
Candlestick
mid-19th century
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.57.37.1
Cake Mold
c. 1847–1867
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.57.29
Mug
c. 1844–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
B.63.113