Art Institute of Chicago

Poet's Pitcher

Designed by Karl L. H. Müller (American, born Germany, 1820–1887)

Date

1875–86

Medium

Parian porcelain and glaze with gilding

Culture

Brooklyn

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Union Porcelain Works was known for making doorknobs and other utilitarian objects before expanding into fine tablewares that could compete with imported products. Karl L. H. Müller, a German-born sculptor, was hired to design inventive works that went into production around the time of the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. This pitcher, which depicts six poets in profile encircling the body of the vessel, received international acclaim, as did Müller’s other designs for Union Porcelain. One account of his works on display at the Philadelphia exhibition declared them exemplary of “what can be done in art pottery on this side of the water.”

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