Bar Pitcher
Karl L. H. Müller
c. 1880
Medium
Parian porcelain and glaze with gilding
Dimensions
24.8 × 26.7 cm (9 3/4 × 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
pitcher (vessel)
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
152748
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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 Chines...