Model of a stove

Description

This small tower stove is a miniature version of the type of stove required by the guild of stove potters as a masterpiece in 1737: "... a round stove for a room with an oval 'head' with good clean glass (glazing)". Such a stove had to "be erected clean and true" by the potter who also had to supply a pitcher with a narrow neck and a pot with a capacity of 11.47 litres. The model stove is decorated with sgraffito which is rarely used on real stoves and serves here as an indication of the intended shape of the tiles and the floral decoration. The date 1712 is inscribed on the back of the stove seat and a bird perched on a flower is drawn on its side. The motifs are scratched into the pale coating that covers the model so that the exposed red clay base appears dark under the transparent green lead glaze.