Posset Pot
CultureEnglish
Dateca. 1710
MediumEarthenware with tin glaze and enamel
DimensionsOverall: 8 3/4 inches (22.23 cm)
Credit LineGift of Frank P. Burnap
Object number55-89 A,B
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 112
Collections
DescriptionPot and cover have two scroll handles each, surmounted by dragon figure in green glaze. Central spout sharply curving at level of pot's neck. Cover finial topped by blue bird with red wings. Pot and cover each decorated with two chinoiserie scenes in bright red, yellow, blue and green on white.Exhibition HistoryCathay Invoked: Chinoiserie, A Celestial Empire in the West, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, June 11-July 31, 1966, no. 30.
The English Potter Prior to 1800, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, November 18, 1972-February 25, 1973, no cat.
As the fashion for imported Asian objects grew in 17th- and 18th-century Europe, Asian motifs were copied and adapted. Here, Chinese scenes decorate the vessel, while green dragons embellish the handles.
Vessels in this case were used for serving and drinking two hot, alcohol-based beverages: posset and caudle. A typical posset recipe consisted of cream, wine or ale, spices, sugar and eggs. Although posset was considered both nutritional and medicinal, it was also a popular beverage served at social gatherings. A properly made posset consisted of three layers: a frothy foam, a floating custard formed by the alcohol-curdled milk that was eaten with a spoon and the alcohol-rich liquid that sank to the bottom and was drunk or poured through the spout. Served in bulbous cups, caudle was also made with wine or ale, spices, sugar and eggs but included gruel of oatmeal or breadcrumbs.
Vessels in this case were used for serving and drinking two hot, alcohol-based beverages: posset and caudle. A typical posset recipe consisted of cream, wine or ale, spices, sugar and eggs. Although posset was considered both nutritional and medicinal, it was also a popular beverage served at social gatherings. A properly made posset consisted of three layers: a frothy foam, a floating custard formed by the alcohol-curdled milk that was eaten with a spoon and the alcohol-rich liquid that sank to the bottom and was drunk or poured through the spout. Served in bulbous cups, caudle was also made with wine or ale, spices, sugar and eggs but included gruel of oatmeal or breadcrumbs.
Mr. Frank P. Burnap (1861-1957), Kansas City, MO by 1955;
His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1955.
California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Cathay Invoked : Chinoiserie, a Celestial Empire in the West, exh. cat. (San Francisco: California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1966), unpaginated, (repro).
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