overall: 16 in x 10 1/2 in x 10 1/2 in; 40.64 cm x 26.67 cm x 26.67 cm
Object Name:
bucket
bucket, fire
Date made:
ca 1830
Description:
This bucket belonged to Seth Stevens, who was listed as a “tripe curer” in the 1831 Charlestown city directory. Though the bucket has been damaged, it appears that Stevens may also have been a member of the Franklin Fire Society. The work of making a leather fire bucket was usually done by two craftsmen: first, a local shoemaker would work the leather and sew the seams tightly; then, a glazier or artist would paint a name, number, or insignia on the bucket as a form of identification. Buckets were often brilliantly decorated with bright colors, bearing a family crest, a portrait, or a company motto. Such craftsmanship makes many fire buckets excellent examples of early American art. Bucket artists were not professional artists in the academic sense, though they made a living from their work. These artists generally worked for common people much like themselves. In the early republic, objects of daily life, from furniture to kitchen tools, were frequently decorated with floral and geometric motifs. This bucket is an example of an everyday object that was also a work of art. It was not only labeled with essential information—the name and town of its owner—but was also decorated with leaved branches and floral designs. At the bottom of the bucket is the “line of life,” which was often used in decoration to symbolize the ups and downs, the beginning and end, of life.
