The punch pot acquired by the Warner House is buff-colored stoneware with applied decoration. It has an unglazed mat surface and was fired at a high temperature that rendered the body impervious to liquids.
The pot’s greatest height is 6 1/2"; its greatest width, 11". With the exception of a repaired handle, minor wear on the base, and tiny chips on the spout tip and cover, it is in excellent condition.
Its handle, spout, and finial are formed in red clay as the pruned woody stems of grapevines. The decoration consists of a trail of leaves and bunches of grapes sprigged on, and vines made of rolled clay that circle the diameter of the pot.
Although similar pots were made in the eighteenth century in both China and England, the Warner House acquisition appears to be of Chinese manufacture. Buff-bodied stoneware from England is rare, though some sherds have been recovered from the William Greatbatch site.[1] Most revealing is a distinct ridge on the interior shoulder of the pot corresponding to a faint line on the exterior that may be a result of the slab construction used by Chinese potters.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank Carl Crossman for his educated eye.
Joyce Geary Volk
Art Historian and Consultant
Curator, Warner House Association
Louise Richardson
Board Member, Warner House Association
Past President, China Students Club of Boston
