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Ice Pitcher
- Designer: Karl L. H. Mueller, American, born Germany, 1820-1887
- Manufacturer: Union Porcelain Works, 1863-ca.1922
- Medium: Porcelain
- Place Manufactured: New York City, New York, USA
- Dates: ca. 1875
- Dimensions: 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm)
- Markings: On barrel is stamp of "U.P.W.". Base marked in rust "Union / Porcelain Works / Greenpoint / N.Y." and eagle head in black with "U.P.W."
- Signature: no signature
- Inscriptions: no inscriptions
- Collections: Decorative Arts
- Museum Location:
This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, Making Art: Centennial Era, 5th Floor - Accession Number: 68.87.51
- Credit Line: Gift of Franklin Chace
- Image: Overall, 68.87.51_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
- Catalogue Description: Ice pitcher, porcelain, with patented spout for ice, yellow ground with relief decoration of cowboy and Chinaman concealing a poker hand, opposite side King Gambrinus presenting a barrel of beer to Brother Jonathan. Bear handle, spout in the shape of a sea lion. Condition: Good
One side of this pitcher depicts King Gambrinus, the Teutonic inventor of beer, offering Uncle Sam his first glass of the foaming brew. The other sIde shows a scene from Bret Harte's popular 1870 poem known as "The Heathen Chinee." Despite its title, Harte's poem paints a sympathetic picture of these new Asian immigrants and was a plea for fairness.
bryankennedy
z
spiceytaco
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum