Porcelain pitcher

New here! Wondering about this pitcher that I believe came through my grandmother and family, who lived in Brooklyn Ny, and Rhode Island. Date, history, value?? Any thoughts? TIA!

 

That is a lovely pitcher to my eyes. It is a pleasing color and has just enough decoration to be appealing, not smothering. Just my opinion, of course.

 

Welcome to the board.

Size would help.
Could be a milk pitcher, could be a pitcher from a bowl and pitcher set. Would depend on the size.
Looks like white ironstone with gold accent. Possibly English or American.
Just my reaction - not necessarily correct.
Nice looking.

 

Agreed! Simple, but beautiful. I've always admired it, and feel fortunate that it was passed down to me!

 

Its about 9-10 inches high; not a small pitcher. I could certainly see it as part of a washroom set. I looked up ironstone vs. porcelain but didn't find much - any advice on how to tell the difference? There is no discoloration or crackling on this pitcher, and the gold appears handpainted. My grandmother was an artist but from a wealthy family... its possible she made or painted it or that it was passed down from her parents. I was curious about the makers mark on the bottom; no stamp, just the etched IU (?).

I intend to keep it forever, but I just had twins and am packing it away so it doesn't get damaged! Hoping to determine if its a "just pack in newspaper with the china" item or a "carefully store and don't bring out until their 20" item ;-)

 

Welcome ELHB and congrats on the twins! I can't see the impressed mark very well and am just wondering whether it's just a glazing "wrinkle". These pitchers were made in great quantities especially around the 1880's or so. There were several companies in New Jersey that made this type of product but it could be from any number of American or English manufacturers. Some of my favorite American pieces in this genre were made by Haynes Pottery of Baltimore. If you google Haynes pottery Baltimore white you can see a number of their examples. I guess what I'm trying to avoid saying is that it is probably going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to pin this down to a specific manufacturer. But IMHO it's a very nice example of its type.
Don

 

Oh, sorry, one more note. I wouldn't recommend wrapping in newspaper for any length of time. Newspaper yellows and turns brittle in time. And even if there is no visible crazing you don't want to take the chance of black newsprint seeping into the finish. If you've got white butcher paper or tissue paper I would recommend that instead. Even old gift wrapping paper would work.
Don

 

congrats on the twins !!!

 

Can't say for sure because I can't see the impressed mark on the bottom, but this does look like an early Charles Field Haviland milk pitcher in the Ivy blank with gold. Many of the CFH early pieces were not signed but rather had an impressed mark on the base, some not signed at all. I read somewhere that a person would buy an entire set and some of the serving pieces would be marked, but none of the rest of the pieces. So Haviland is something you could check out.

 

I just looked at my Cream and Sugar in the CFH Ivy with gold pattern to see the marks. The cream has H & Co and 91 impressed on the bottom. The Sugar has a barely there H & Co and 3 hash marks on the edge. So marks are weird on these early pieces. I'm now more convinced that your pitcher is CF Haviland.

 

Hi, just my two cents....This pitcher is commonly referred to as "Old Paris" porcelain. As stated above, it's possible that it was made by Haviland. However, it does also fit in the collecting field of "old Paris" or "vieux Paris". Old Paris pieces commonly have a scratched in mark that's unreadable on the bottom.

Juli

 

Very nice -- and another congratulations on the twins!