Cryso-Ceramic vase
date: label: Date made
content: 1879 - 1914
label: date made
content: c.1893
notes: label: Description
content: China painting swept across America in the late nineteenth century as one of the most prevalent decorative pottery techniques, especially among young women. Considered a respectable form of work and creative outlet for women, china painting incorporated the element of hand craft that helped elevate standards of design during a period of mass production and industrialism. The technique of china painting could be done conveniently at home or in large pottery settings. Also known as “mineral painting,” after its materials, a china painter used enamels, low firing colors produced from various mineral-oxides, as a “painting” medium on pre-fired porcelain white porcelain, also known as blanks. These blank porcelain pieces were often imported from European countries, France and Germany in particular, and came in a variety of dinner ware forms and vases. The china painting technique of decorating porcelain was popularized in America by the highly influential Englishman, Edward Lycett. Trained as a potter in the English tradition at Spode pottery in Staffordshire, England, Lycett moved to America in 1861, where he almost immediately gained prestigious commissions for the White House and Tiffany & Co. His devotion to experimenting with materials and teaching pottery techniques across the country established Edward Lycett as the “pioneer of china painting in America” during his own lifetime. Ultimately, the creativity fostered by the china painting movement and the influence of Edward Lycett launched the American ceramic industry towards new and exciting avenues of decorative pottery.
label: Description
content: While women china decorators were often referred to as “amateurs” with the men as the professionals in the field, the Healey sisters became an exception. Mary and Emily Healey were born into a wealthy family in Cumberland, Maryland and worked as china decorators, and likely teachers of china painting, from 1892 to the 1920s. Their interest in china painting began when they moved to Washington, D.C. where the arts were widely appreciated and supported. China painting was seen as genteel occupation for women, with its connection to domesticity while fulfilling the Victorian aesthetic of a variety and quantity of objects on display in the home. Most women who practiced china painting viewed it mainly as a leisurely activity, especially after the increased affluence after the Civil War. The Healey sisters, however, used china painting as means to support themselves. Differentiating themselves from the conventional naturalistic china painted scenes, the sisters became known for covering their porcelain blanks entirely with gold. “Cryso-Ceramics” (cryso meaning gold), was a process they developed using a mixture of gold and uranium that fired in a low-temperature kiln. Although less known today, the Healey sisters were a wide success during their lifetime. Not only were they able to sell their china painting locally through catalog orders and commissions, but they also received two Premium awards at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and became an international sensation – reaching acclaim as far as Denmark.
label: Description
content: Two sisters, Mary and Emily Healey of Washington, D.C., exhibited this trombone¬–shaped vase, one of their finest works, at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of America, this World Fair presented the Healey sisters with the opportunity to introduce and advertise their china painting achievements through their brilliant gold “Cryso-Ceramics”. Even though gilding was not a new invention, Emily Healey discovered a new formula, which included a mixture of gold and uranium that was different than their eighteenth-century counterparts. This imported blank vase from France is representative of their vessels that painted entirely gold. The Healey sisters exhibited their work in two different stations at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition – the Women’s Building and the Manufacturers & Liberal Arts Building – both in the ceramics and mosaic department. Their gold china painted pieces, exhibited alongside Mary Louis McLaughlin and Rookwood Pottery, were very well-received, with Haviland Manufacturers even offering to purchase their formula. They did not take the deal, but rather went home proudly with two ribbons, awarding them for their premium “Gold Covered Porcelain” and “Decorated China”, both of which are located in the Smithsonian collection, and ultimately validation to continue with “Cryso-Ceramics”.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: France: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Limoges
label: place made
content: United States: District of Columbia, Washington
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
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content: Art
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Elizabeth H. Taylor
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1991.0017.05
label: catalog number
content: 1991.0017.05
label: accession number
content: 1991.0017
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Vase
label: Object Name
content: vase
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ceramic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: hard-paste porcelain (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: gilding (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: gold (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: molded (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in; 29.21 cm x 13.97 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11 3/8 in x 5 3/4 in; 28.8925 cm x 14.605 cm