MINTON Denmark Christening bowl 1879

LARGE ANTIQUE gilded bowl in scarce blue and white 'Denmark' pattern by Minton marked 1879. This exceptional piece is alive with history and belongs in a museum such as Hunter House. This pattern was engraved for Mintons in 1878 and registered the same year as "Denmark print". It was a new and fashionable item when it was given to 'Anna Caroline Rotch Dunn' in 1879 as a 'Christening Bowl' (handwritten paper label on base).

This striking centrepiece is a moulded square form with fluted corners, two decorative gilded handles and four gilded ball feet. It is very light for its size and velvety to the touch. It is clearly marked with the blue underglaze Mintons 'Denmark' back stamp and design registration mark for 1878 (printed and impressed). Date cypher is 1879. Other workmen's marks and label of provenance are shown in pictures. The bowl is crisply printed under the glaze in a very deep midnight blue on a creamy body. The print extends under each handle to display well on a high Victorian credenza. Also printed inside the rim. Excellent condition; light gilding wear, interior abrasions and firing nibbles. The last two pictures illustrate the large dimensions of this bowl. It makes a designer statement as fresh today as it was 130 years ago. Measures 9"W x 5.25H (11.5" handle-to-handle). Weighs 0.97kg / 2lb 2oz unpacked.

PROVENANCE:
The Hunter family took great care of this heirloom. By descent in the family of William Hunter of Newport, Rhode Island: William Hunter; son Charles Hunter; daughter Kate Hunter Dunn; daughter Anna Caroline Rotch Dunn 1879-1959 (great aunt of last owner); Private Collection, Asheville, North Carolina.

William Hunter was a U.S. senator and President Andrew Jackson's chargé d'affaires to Brazil. His career in public service spanned fifty years from 1799-1845. One of his sons, William, is remembered for an equally long and distinguished career in the US State Department which he basically ran from 1829-1886. Kate Hunter Dunn lost both her parents, Charles and Mary Hunter, and her sister Caroline in the sinking of SS Ville de Havre in 1873. Anna was born six years later and this bowl was one of her christening presents.The ancestral home 'Hunter House', built in classic 18C Georgian style, is now a small historic museum.

PATTERN:
’Denmark' was produced on Minton's best body earthenware in a variety of colours including blue, brown, rust, black and a fish print #C2298. The simple design and material reflects the ethos of the Arts & Crafts movement 1880-1910 and contemporary designers such as William Morris and Charles Eastlake.

RESOURCES:
JOAN JONES 'Minton: The First Two Hundred Years Of Design & Production', 1993. PETER BRIDGES 'Three Great Civil Servants: William Hunter, Alvey Augustus Adee, and Wilbur J. Carr', October 11, 2005.

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