posted on October 31, 2000 02:14:03 PM new
Can anyone tell me what this pitcher and it's 4 little baby pitchers is used for? They're all made of pottery and unmarked. The big pitcher is 9 1/2 inches tall to the tip of the handle, and the baby pitchers are 3 inches tall. The big pitcher has four little "horns" where the little ones can hang. I purchased it at an estate sale the other day and nobody else bid on it. I'm a sucker for the $5 sale, so it came home with me. It's in almost excellent condtion except for a couple of little chips along one of the rims of a little pitcher. This surely must have some special use! Any ideas?
posted on October 31, 2000 05:33:12 PM new
Well, since you asked, it doesn't look like it's worth money to me. I'd toss it in the trash, and tell the kids not to drag that kind of stuff home anymore. Not all which glitters is gold.
posted on October 31, 2000 05:40:35 PM new
Don't be in a hurry to toss it. You can try the Online Traders Web Alliance web site (hint, the URL is the initials) and they have a section just for identifying things like this. I suspect it has a special use. I can guess that it might be a kiddush service. Jewish fathers make kiddush on a large cup of wine and then pour it into smaller cups for the rest of the family. If it is a kiddush service, it's not all that practical but it still might be a collector's item. Find out what it is and I'm sure you'll get more than $5. And please let us know. http://www.ygoodman.com [email protected]
posted on October 31, 2000 05:59:36 PM new
Trash?!?! Surely you jest!
I think it's lovely~whatever it is~I would guess Italian or south of France pottery. I have no idea what it is but would certainly be welcome in many homes with a provencal decor. I would list it in Art pottery if you don't find out exactly what it is.
posted on November 1, 2000 03:54:26 AM new
Looking at the picture, the babies are probably not meant for drinking but for pouring, like creamers (they have the little spouts on the end). Since the big jug also has pointed ends in your picture, I suspect that this is a master jug for cream or something like that in a restaurant which would sit on the bar and would be refilled by the servers. As to origin, it definitely looks European, as mimigigi said, probably southern French or Italian, both of which are in great vogue right now as design concepts in this country.
posted on November 1, 2000 04:37:06 AM new
Looks like a center piece for a table and the pitchers are for different types of syrup or sauces. If they didn't have the pour spouts I could think it was a condiment set without lids. But these are definitely pitchers. I just can't think of what you would put inside the big part. I'd am curious now too so somebody enlighten us all. I would have bought it too but then again I have a whole house of "boughts" like this I have no idea what they are or why I bought them. USED to be you could sell it on Ebay if you knew what it was and somebody would be looking for it. Now a days better off to give the stuff back to the Thrift Store unfortunately. lol
posted on November 1, 2000 01:59:57 PM new
This piece is from Mexico, we bought one not long ago, and it has taken days to find out what it is. Ours is blue. It is for making a mexican cereal, something similar to cream of wheat. It is cooked in the clay pot then it is poured into the little cups and eaten by pouring it into your mouth. My spanish is bad but I think the cereal is called "Atolie". Hope this helps.
posted on November 1, 2000 04:10:43 PM new
Close. It's called "atole" (ah-TO-lay)and is a thick wintertime hot drink that can be made from anything from cornmeal to sesame seeds, but is often started with a blob of fresh tortilla dough. Here's a couple varieties, from the "Dictionary of National Beverages":
Atole Agrio (Sour Atole) - Beverage made in the state of Tabasco with fermented corn and sweetened with unrefined brown sugar, and cooked until it becomes thick. Beverage of common consumption and also used in some rituals.
Atole Blanco (White Atole)- Made with dough of white or yellow corn, it has a sweet taste. Beverage that does not contain alcohol and it is made in the states of Mexico and Michoacan.
Atole de Aguamiel (Aguamiel Atole) -
Very typical of the state of Queretaro, it is prepared based on "puscua" -which is nothing else than corn boiled in water- to which you just have to add the aguamiel, and then letting it boil until is ready.
Atole de Mezquite (Mesquitatole) - Once the atole of dough with milk, sugar and cinnamon is prepared, the extract of the small sheaths of mesquite previously cooked is added and it is ready to drink it.This atole dates back to the end of the 16th. Century and nowadays in Guanajuato it is consumed very seldom.
...and just plain
Atole - prepared with cooked corn, grinded and dissolved in water. Generally it is combined with fruits like plums, guava, strawberry, vanilla, etc. This beverage that does not contain alcohol is prepared in all the regions of the Mexican Republic, especially in the states of Mexico, Colima and Morelos.
We used to be able to get all sorts of atole mixes at the little mercados in East Boston.
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Nov 1, 2000 04:11 PM ]
posted on November 1, 2000 05:25:17 PM new
This pitcher was most definitle made in the Mexican town of San Jose de Gracia, in the state of Michoacan. (I know 'cause I've been there)
Actually, it is not used to serve atole, but another Mexican beverage called ponche (punch). This beverage is made mostly during the holiday season, and it's made with several fruits (apple, guayaba, tejocote, raisins, cinnamon, spiked with rum.
posted on November 1, 2000 05:29:10 PM newsg52: it doesn't look like it's worth money to me.
Far from it. These pottery pieces are very desirable by collectors, since the glaze they're covered in is very delicate and can easily chip or crack, thus getting a piece in good shape is hard.
------------------------------------------------------------ Many miles away, there's a shadow on the door of a cottage on the shore of a dark Scottish lake. http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/preacher4u/
posted on November 1, 2000 05:29:32 PM new
Thanks for all your help!
harrin10--I think you are probably right. I purchased quite a few items from this estate auction, and apparently the woman did a lot of traveling. Included in a box were brochures from Mexico, so I'm sure that country was included in her travels. The only discrepancy I can think of that might not fit your (um...yummy???) cereal theory is that this is not heavy enough to cook cereal in it. However, it could be more of a decorative style.
Yisgood--thanks for the information about that trader's site. I really enjoyed looking around it and have now listed it as one of my favorites. I posted the picture over there and although a couple of people responded, nobody knew what it was either!
Toke--there are no marks anywhere. That's the first thing I looked for!
Preacher--That answer even makes more sense! I think we're getting closer all the time. And THANKS for the encouragement!
And sg52--all that glitters may not be gold, but I've sure made a lot of gold off of other people's rejects!
[ edited by joycel on Nov 1, 2000 05:32 PM ]
