Bar Pitcher

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

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 Chinese immigration in the 19th century. In a scene drawn from a well-known contemporary poem, “Plain Language from Truthful James” by Bret Harte, an Irish miner draws his sword against a fellow Chinese worker over a game of cards; the poem, while intended by the author as a satire against the improper treatment of Chinese immigrants, reinforces negative stereotypes.

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