Caster
Unknown Artist
ca. 1760–80
Medium
Salt-glazed stoneware
Dimensions
Height: 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
British, Staffordshire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. George D. Pratt, 1922
Accession Number
22.123.13
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of 18th-century British tableware with this charming *Caster*, crafted around 1760–80 in Staffordshire, England—a hub of innovative pottery production. Standing just 5 5/8 inches tall, this salt-glazed stoneware vessel was designed for the dining table, likely to dispense sugar, spices, or salt a perforated lid, adding elegance to everyday meals in middle-class homes. Salt-glazing, a hallmark technique of Staffordshire potters, involved vaporizing salt in the kiln to fuse a durable, glossy finish onto the stoneware body. This method produced a stone-like strength at a frac...