Redware crock pot. The pot is composed of earthenware, which is glazed inside and unglazed outside. A line is incised around the exterior under the rim.
Label Text:
Since ancient Egyptian times, containers for plants, flowers, herbs, and edible plants have evolved according to the needs, fashions, and technology of the time. Through the centuries, these vessels have influenced the horticultural and aesthetic role of plants, and allowed for their cultivation, transportation, and display. The Industrial Revolution in the 1800s brought mechanization and mass production techniques that allowed a variety of eclectic plant containers to be produced cheaply and efficiently. Cast-iron, china, terra cotta, and wooden plant containers were readily available in variety of styles and sizes. These containers were placed both indoors and in the garden. With a long historical tradition of designs and styles of containers to draw on in the nineteenth century, Victorians grew their plants in a diverse collection of containers depending on the family’s income and taste.
Pots were used for the cultivation and display of plants and flowers. These essential garden containers had a number of uses including transporting plants, growing indoors or on terraces, and for starting seeds. They came in wide range of shapes and sizes suited to the different needs of the gardener. They often had holes in the bottom for water drainage, and when paired with a saucer or placed inside a decorative cover, a plant could soak the water back up as needed. In the nineteenth century, flower and plant pots were almost always made from fired clay such as terra cotta and were heavier and more breakable than those made with today’s modern materials.
