Art Institute of Chicago

Bar Pitcher

Date

c. 1880

Medium

Parian porcelain and glaze with gilding

Culture

Greenpoint

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This bar pitcher exemplifies a uniquely American style of ceramics using imagery of contemporary literature, events, and daily life. The bear-shaped handle and long-tusked walrus spout evoke exploration of, and US expansion into, the Pacific Northwest. On one side of the pitcher, the legendary King Gambrinus, inventor of beer, presents a keg to Brother Jonathan, a fictional character symbolic of the United States. The vignette depicted on the other side can be seen as a racist response to Chinese immigration in the 19th century. In a scene drawn from a well-known contemporary poem, “Plain Language from Truthful James” by Bret Harte, an Irish miner draws his sword against a fellow Chinese worker over a game of cards; the poem, while intended by the author as a satire against the improper treatment of Chinese immigrants, reinforces negative stereotypes.

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