Mug

William Bloor

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

William Bloor was a significant figure in the development of porcelain in this country; he worked in numerous potteries in both East Liverpool, Ohio, and Trenton, New Jersey, two major centers of porcelain production during its burgeoning years in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. The mug depicts on one side the hero Lajos (Louis) Kossuth, who was widely admired by Americans for his efforts to liberate Hungary from Austrian rule during the 1848 revolution, appropriately paired with George Washington, America’s hero in liberating the colonies from British oppression. Kossuth made a much-publicized visit to the United States, arriving in the country in December 1851, and was received warmly by the American public. His visit garnered much press, and his portrait bust was featured on a wide range of decorative items, such as quilts, glass flasks, and ceramics, that were aimed at a middle-class clientele.

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