Candlestick 1849 - 1858

Editor: This is a ceramic candlestick, made of earthenware and stoneware by the United States Pottery Company, sometime between 1849 and 1858. The speckled glaze gives it a rather earthy feel. What do you see in this piece, in terms of its place in history? Curator: Well, first, it's crucial to note when and where it was made. Mid-19th century America was undergoing rapid industrialization, and the rise of factories brought both the promise of affordable goods and anxieties about traditional craftsmanship. This candlestick, produced by a company rather than an individual artisan, speaks to those anxieties. Editor: How so? The glaze feels…almost folksy. Curator: Exactly! The speckled effect mimics handmade pottery, a deliberate aesthetic choice reflecting a market interested in *appearing* to support pre-industrial artistic modes, even as they purchased factory-made wares. This "decorative-art" piece uses a deceptive marketing of itself. Would this candlestick be in every household or only available to the rising wealthy class at the time? Editor: I hadn't considered the class implications. Curator: These objects were tools for middle and upper-class self-definition through carefully designed interiors. Displaying items like this showed you were cultured. And, crucially, participating in the expanding American consumer market! What do you think about the ways that museums and galleries affect pieces like these? Editor: I suppose placing a relatively mass-produced object in a museum elevates its status, ironically undoing some of that industrial democratization. I see now how much is contained in what seems like a simple candlestick! Curator: Precisely. By understanding the socio-economic context, we understand the message the United States Pottery Company was trying to give and sell to people at the time.