Pearlware Pitcher with Arms of the United States and “Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights”
England, circa 1820s — Height: 4½ inches
 
A finely potted pearlware cream pitcher transfer-printed in black with the American eagle crest—perched above cannon, flags, and martial trophies—encircled by the legend “Arms of the United States” and the motto E Pluribus Unum. The arms appear on both sides of the vessel, while beneath the spout a laurel wreath encloses the slogan “Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights,” a charged phrase of the early republic closely associated with maritime grievance and the rhetoric of the War of 1812 era, which persisted in ceramics produced for the American market.
 
Condition: Excellent, with no restoration.