Chestnut basket

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This transfer-printed earthenware chestnut basket was made by Thomas Rathbone & Company of Portobello in Midlothian. It dates from around 1820.

The pattern is called 'THE FONT'. The printed scene on the base of the interior is of a woman filling a jug with water from a well, or font. This design was also made by other potteries. It relates to a pattern, also used by Spode, often called 'girl at the well'.

By the early 1800s, potteries in Musselburgh, Portobello and Prestonpans, all near Edinburgh, were producing a wide range of wares, from soft-paste porcelain to transfer-printed earthenware.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-082-642-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.1995.133
• Date: Around 1820
  c. 1820
  
• Material: Glazed earthenware. Inscription: THE FONT; TR&Co / Stone China
  Basket, chestnut
  
• Dimensions: 105 mm H x 265 mm L x 170 mm W
  
• What: Basket, chestnut
  
• Subject:
• Who: Thomas Rathbone & Co., Portobello (Maker)
  
• Where: Scotland, Midlothian, Portobello
  
• Event:
• Description: Chestnut basket of glazed earthenware with a pierced body and blue and white transfer-printed "font" pattern, by Thomas Rathbone & Co., Portobello, c. 1820
  
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