3D MODEL
Holder, nosegay Item Info
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- Title:
- Holder, nosegay
- Date:
- 18th century
- Description:
- Tin-glazed earthenware; ceramic; made to hang on the wall by a ribbon loop; white background with cobalt blue hand-painted designs (robin sitting on a tree branch, flowers, and a scallop shell)
- Marks/Inscriptions :
- N/A
- Geographies:
- Europe; possibly Netherlands or England
- Material:
- Ceramic
- Provenance:
- Anonymous
- Material History:
- Tin-glazed earthenware is a thicker ceramic than porcelain and created with different clays and glazes. The production of delftware typically sourced clay from Northern Ireland and mixed the Irish clay with other local clays. Once the ceramic body is molded and pre-fired, it is covered in a white lead glaze that contains tin. After firing, the tin glaze is applied to the entire ceramic and typically hand-painted using cobalt for the dark blue color.
- Quaker connection:
- Belonged to the Trimble family.
- Object Story, Consumption and Use:
- In the late eighteenth century, global porcelain products were a staple part of household decor, which were typically Asian produced. After the fall of the Chinese Ming dynasty in 1644, ceramic production fell to other countries, such as the Netherlands, the producer of a popular type of ceramic: delftware. Delftware was known for its white ceramic background and painted cobalt blue details, made to repliate Chinese porcelain.To make this ceramic, clay was imported from Northern Ireland and mixed in large tanks outside of the factory. The clay mixture was then molded and fired, and hand-painted by specialized workers, then glazed with a tin glaze. Due to the similarity in this design from other ceramic wall pockets from English factories, it can be speculated that this object is English. Delftware designs typically depict images of nature, such as flowers, birds, and leaves. When displayed inside the home, delftware could bring the tranquility and beauty of nature indoors. When paired with a colorful bouquet of flowers, a beautiful, but simple, a ceramic wall pocket could liven up any room inside of the eightenth-century home. At around the time that this wall pocket was produced, delftware had moved from a high-class commodity to a middle-class symbol, even considered ‘out of fashion’ to affluent individuals. Although one might think the wall pocket is against the typical description of the ‘plain’ Quaker, this object was owned by a Quaker family, the Trimbles. We do not know much about this family at the time that we suspect this object was owned, but this wall pocket still brings us closer to understanding Quaker lives and values. With the addition of this wall pocket and other objects in this collection, we are given a glimpse into Quaker history that is revealed to have been more nuanced than at first glance.
- Research Sources:
- 1. Reino Liefkes, Hilary Young, Terry Bloxham, and Mike Kitcatt. Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publishing, 2008. 2. van Iperen, Jolanda, Campagne, Kate van Lookeren, Garachon, Isabelle, van Schinkel, Margot, Keune,Katrien, and Diercks, Femke. “The White Glaze of Delft Blue: A Comparative Study of Historical Recipes for the White Tin Glaze Used in Delftware and Other Dutch Tin-Glazed Earthenware During Their Heyday (c. 1600–1800).” Studies in Conservation 70, no. 3 (2025): 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393630.2024.2357854. 3. Turner, A. (n.d.). Delftware: Bristol’s collection - Bristol Museums Collections. Bristol Museums Collections. https://collections.bristolmuseums.org.uk/stories/delftware-bristols-collection/ 4. Amanda Lange, Delftware at Historic Deerfield, 1600-1800 (Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, MA, 2001), 115. 5. Aronson Antiquairs of Amsterdam, Delftware in the Baroque Garden. (n.d.). https://www.aronson.com/delftware-baroque-garden/ 5. Swarthmore College, Friends Historical Library
- Type:
- InteractiveResource;3DObject
- Accession Number:
- SC-FHL-R-0026
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- "Holder, nosegay", From Local to Global - Consumption and the Quaker Body, Swarthmore College, https://swat-ds.github.io/material-culture/material-culture/items/mc002.html