Stand (Teapot stand or salver)

Description

In many ways, the overall form of this stand or salver, like the elegantly detailed rim border and lion’s-paw feet, imitates costly silver of the mid 1700s. In fact, the mold may have been made off of a silver original. Whether ceramic or metalwork, such trays sometimes were used when serving wine—to hold a glass--or as teapot stands that protected costly tea tables from hot pots. This earthenware type is known as agateware and was intended to imitate patterns found in natural stone. Such stone was fashionable for use as inlays on objects, such as boxes, or in architectural settings. Ceramic agateware was produced in Staffordshire, England in lead-glazed earthenware (as shown here) and salt-glazed stoneware. Labor-intensive to produce, some agateware required kneading different colors of clay together before rolling it out and pressing it into molds. Careful cleaning of the surface exposed crisply defined colors. Archaeological evidence from American sites, as well as documentary evidence, prove that agateware was fashionable here during the colonial period. Period terms for agateware include "agate" and "marbled" typically followed by the object type (as in teapot).