Pitcher

Charles Cartlidge and Company

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The mid-nineteenth century porcelain manufactory of Charles Cartlidge and Company in Greenpoint, Brooklyn produced a variety of slip-cast wares for the middle class market. The firm offered a wide array of forms which included tablewares and pitchers, along with mundane, everyday objects (inkstands, paper weights, spittoons, etc.) to highly specialized items. Among the company’s favorite designs are the relief-molded pitchers of either corn and cornstalks or oak leaves and acorns, like this example. The most significant Cartlidge pitchers are those with shields and inscribed with names, often made for tradesmen or saloon keepers. The embellishments and inscriptions on this pitcher are particularly interesting. The front of the pitcher is formed by a spread eagle surmounting a shield resting on an anchor. The banner in the eagle’s beak is inscribed "Presented by A. P. Garrett," and the shield is inscribed "Geo. H. Barnes." While the exact relationship between the two men is unknown, research has revealed that George H. Barnes and Abraham P. Garrett were both butchers in Brooklyn in the middle of the nineteenth century. Along with the inscriptions, the allover gilding and painted decoration further signify the importance of this object.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art