Norton & Fenton
Book Flask

MakerAmerican, 1845–1847
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Book Flask
Datec. 1845–1847
Made inBennington, Vermont, United States
MediumLead-glazed earthenware (flint enamel ware)
Dimensions5 5/8 × 2 1/16 × 4 3/16 in. (14.3 × 5.2 × 10.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.57.28
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Ceramics Study Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

This flask represents the smallest of the novelty book-shaped bottles produced at the Fenton pottery. That they were a fairly standard product is evidenced by their appearance on the 1852 price list.  The mark, one usually reserved for Parian wares, and only known on a few other pieces of colored glazed ware, indicates that the Bayou Bend flask is a rare and early example.

Related examples: See Barret 1958, p. 316, pl. 411; Ketchum 1983, no. 283; MMA (acc. no. 40.150.310).

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.
Exhibition History"Fill the Other Bowl, Boys!," Texarkana Historical Society, Texarkana, TX, September 1, 1993–October 16, 1993.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
Impressed on underside: Fenton's Works / Bennington, / Vermont [Barret 1958, p. 14, fig. Xe]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

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Sugar Bowl
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Lead-glazed earthenware (flint enamel ware)
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Pie Plate
Lyman, Fenton & Co.
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Lead-glazed earthenware (flint enamel ware)
B.57.56
Pie Plate
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c. 1849–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (flint enamel ware)
B.57.57
Pie Plate
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c. 1849–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (flint enamel ware)
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Toby Barrel Flask or Bottle
Lyman, Fenton & Co.
c. 1849–1858
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c. 1850–1860s
Lead-glazed earthenware (Rockingham ware)
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Figure of a Doe
Lyman, Fenton & Co.
c. 1849–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (flint enamel ware)
B.48.1.1
Figure of a Stag
Lyman, Fenton & Co.
c. 1849–1858
Lead-glazed earthenware (flint enamel ware)
B.48.1.2