Spill Vase
Maker
Unknown Maker
(French)
Dateca. 1860
MediumPorcelain
Dimensions11 1/4 × 8 5/8 × 6 3/8 in. (28.6 × 21.9 × 16.2 cm)
ClassificationsDecorative Arts
Credit LineGift of the Decorative Arts Trust
Object number2012.7.2
CommentaryDuring the 19th century, fireplace mantles in parlors often held pairs of vases containing slender sticks of kindling known as “spill.” Sometimes—as here—these were of fine porcelain and very elaborately decorated. These spill vases show characters from Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s enormously popular and influential 1852 anti-slavery novel. The left vase depicts the novel’s hero, Uncle Tom. He is shown with Little Eva, the daughter of his owner. The right vase shows Eliza, an enslaved woman, who is crossing the frozen Ohio River.
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