Previous image 1 2 / 2 Next image

John Shorthose

Mochaware coffeepot

Maker

John Shorthose (English, 1768-1828)

Title

Mochaware coffeepot

Year

ca. 1820

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

earthenware

Geography

Place Made: Hanley; Place Made: Staffordshire; Place Made: England

Dimensions

26.4 x 22.2 x 14 cm (10 3/8 x 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches) (handle to spout; diameter)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Miss Alice Brownell, Mrs. Ernst R. Behrend and Alfred S. Brownell

Object Number

29.188

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Trading Earth
Ceramics, Commodities, and Commerce
Apr 09, 2022 – Aug 03, 2025

Label copy

Coffeepots from England and America face each other, representing volatile trade relations between the two. Just before the Revolutionary War, America’s coffee  consumption was soaring. At that time, the commodity was mainly imported from British-colonized Jamaica. When America gained independence, Britain prohibited the exportation of coffee on American vessels, which prompted savvy import merchants to quickly pivot to non-British suppliers including the French, successfully navigating an unpredictable Atlantic trade system.

18th and 19th-Century American Galleries
Jun 19, 2015
Charles Pendleton House
Jan 02, 2015

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

John Shorthose (English, 1768-1828)
Mochaware coffeepot, ca. 1820
Earthenware with slip decoration and glaze
26.4 x 22.2 x 14 cm (10 3/8 x 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches) (handle to spout; diameter)
Gift of Miss Alice Brownell, Mrs. Ernst R. Behrend and Alfred S. Brownell 29.188

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.