Pitcher

Artist Tucker & Hemphill

Place of OriginUnited States, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Date1834

DimensionsH: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm); W: 5 1/2 in. (13.9 cm)

MediumPorcelain, painted and gilded

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1981.100

Not on View

Label TextThe Tucker Factory was among the first successful porcelain manufactories in the United States. Following on other short-lived successes in New York City and New Jersey, William Ellis Tucker established his porcelain manufactory in Philadelphia in 1826 at Center Square, the site of Philadelphia’s current City Hall. Tucker died in 1830, and thereafter his brother Thomas Tucker oversaw the day-to-day operations and design. Investors, in particular Judge Joseph Hemphill and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, were able to provide the funds necessary to produce the high-quality porcelain that rivaled popular English, French, German, and Italian porcelain of the same period. The factory closed in 1838.