Moon flask
possibly January 1868 or 1869
Medium
Bone china with enamel decoration and gilding
Dimensions
confirmed: 10 3/8 × 8 1/8 × 4 1/8 in. (26.4 × 20.6 × 10.5 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
British, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Helene Fortunoff and Robert Grossman, 2017
Accession Number
2018.62.2
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Moon flask, crafted by the renowned British porcelain firm Minton(s) around January 1868 1869, exemplifies the of Victorian ceramic artistry from Stoke-on-Trent,—the epicenter of England's pottery industry. Measuring 10 3/8 × 8 1/8 × 4 1/8 inches, its bulbous, moon-like form draws inspiration from 18th-century Chinese export wares, blending Eastern motifs with Western technical mastery. Produced in fine bone china—a translucent, durable material unique to Britain, incorporating bone ash for superior strength and whiteness—this flask showcases Minton's leadership in luxury decora...
About the Artist
Minton(s) · 1793–2001
Minton is among the most distinguished names in the history of British ceramics, a firm whose two and a quarter centuries of production encompass everything from blue transfer-printed earthenwares to the most rarefied decorative porcelain of the Victorian age. The company was founded in 1793 by Thomas Minton (1765–1836) in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire — the heart of England's pottery industry. ...