Adam Erby
“He in Glory, America in Tears”: Jacob Perkins, Washington Funeral Medal, and Liverpool Jugs

Ceramics in America 2021

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    George Washington funeral medal, Jacob Perkins, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 1800. Gold. D. 1 3/16". (Courtesy, Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association; photo, Sierra Medellin.) The medal features a shorthand biography of Washington to be contemplated by the wearer, much like Christian devotional medals. 

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Reverse of the medal illustrated in fig. 1.

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Jug, probably made at the Herculaneum Pottery, Liverpool, England, 1800. Creamware. H. 9 1/4". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum; photo, Laszlo Bodo.) 

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Opposite side of the jug illustrated in fig. 3. 

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Front of the jug illustrated in fig. 3.

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Description of the Perkins Washington funeral medal, published in the Newburyport Herald and Country Gazette, January 7, 1800. (Courtesy,  
    America’s Historical Newspapers.)