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| Is the mug in the middle a porringer or a posset Cup? |
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| Porringer, 2.5 wide by 2.5 inches high |
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I have written about this cup before. I thought it was a
posset cup, but now I think it is a porringer.* I have read that the porringer evolved from the posset cup, and that they were very similar. The main difference is that a posset cup usually has a cover while the porringer usually does not. That said, the small size of the cup, 2.5 inches high by 2.5 inches in diameter, suggests an ornamental gift or token rather than one intended for use. It was probably given by a loving grandmother to celebrate the birth of a grandchild. Or, perhaps, a gift for a Christening.
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| The side view of the porringer shows the handle. |
I thought I'd show you some other ceramic porringers, so you can compare the shape.
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| Shown is an 18th century Staffordshire porringer from the Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent. |
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| Shown is an English porringer (1800-1850) from the Detroit Institute of Art. |
Here's another pot with the same message, "A Grandmothers (sic) Gift," as the first cup I showed you. The shape, however, is like a miniature potty! As it is only 2.5 inches high by 1.75 inches in diameter, it was not intended to be used as a real potty. Instead, it is a humorous gift or token.
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| Miniature token in the shape of a potty |
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| Miniature token in the shape of a potty |
But, is it a porringer? No. However, it is a gift from a loving grandmother.
I have shown you the photo below in another post, "
A Grandmother's Gift and Transferware." I am just adding it here so you can see the porringer with a plate and a mug. The message transcends shape and size. Does it really matter if the shape is a mug, a plate, a porringer, a posset cup, or a potty? Or, does it matter if it is intended for use?
Did Grandfathers give ceramic gifts too? Of course! Although I couldn't find a porringer with this message, I did find the mug below.
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| Shown is a child's mug, ca. 1820 |
*Almost the end. I want to thank Sue Wagstaff and Gaye Blake-Roberts for suggesting that the mug, "A Grandmother's Gift," which I brought to the
Transferware Collectors Club 2019 Annual Meeting in Birmingham, was actually a porringer. I am always learning something new!
One more thing. What is a porringer? Used for porridge of course! I have meandered as usual.
I never liked tasting the "d" when I ate my porridge either.
ReplyDeleteMakes me think of a reinvention of the story of "The Three Bears." Maybe Goldilocks chokes on the "d," and Baby Bear finds her dead on the floor of the kitchen instead of asleep in his bed. I better not tell this to Maya because she loves Goldilocks. Liam would love this ending! However, as the story is a fairy tale, Goldilocks would not really be dead. Maybe, she is just sleeping like Snow White? So much for the little "d" in porridge.
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