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Three basic techniques were used to decorate stoneware: stamping, incising, and brushing or slip-cupping. As pottery production increased markedly in the 1840s, brushing was most commonly used because it could be done quickly with aesthetic results. This water cooler is unusual in that it is elaborately brushed. Hilfinger worked as a decorator at both Fort Edward and Bennington Potteries.
BibliographyWilliam C. Ketchum, Potters and Potteries of New York State, (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1987).
Donald Blake Webster, "Decorated Stoneware Pottery of North America". Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1971.
Maker
Hilfinger Pottery
Water Cooler
Datec. 1859-1861
MediumStoneware
DimensionsOverall: 21 × 15 × 13 in. (53.3 × 38.1 × 33 cm)
Object numberN0270.1962
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Preston Bassett
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextWhile a variety of ceramics was made in the United States, stoneware was among the most practical because it was hard and dense, and did not require a lead glaze to make it watertight. Stoneware was created from clays found mainly in New Jersey and Long Island and shipped to potteries in upstate New York.Three basic techniques were used to decorate stoneware: stamping, incising, and brushing or slip-cupping. As pottery production increased markedly in the 1840s, brushing was most commonly used because it could be done quickly with aesthetic results. This water cooler is unusual in that it is elaborately brushed. Hilfinger worked as a decorator at both Fort Edward and Bennington Potteries.
BibliographyWilliam C. Ketchum, Potters and Potteries of New York State, (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1987).
Donald Blake Webster, "Decorated Stoneware Pottery of North America". Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1971.
On View
On viewc. 1930
