Plate 1825 - 1850

This earthenware plate by Asa Edward Smith features a rustic, reddish-brown glaze, enlivened by sgraffito decoration in golden yellow. The form is simple, almost primitive, and the inscription "New York City" curves loosely across the plate's surface. The handwritten text introduces a fascinating interplay between functionality and representation. Smith has used a traditional craft form, the plate, as a canvas for a textual image. The fluid, cursive script contrasts with the medium's rigid, circular boundary. The plate straddles the line between utility and a form of folk-art expression. It could be argued that Smith is engaging with the concept of place and identity, using the plate as a symbolic representation of "New York City," and the plate is a token for a cultural landscape. Note the way the texture of the earthenware and the glaze suggests an artifact of everyday life, simultaneously elevating and grounding its representation of place. This artwork destabilizes the common distinction between art and craft, challenging us to reconsider the values that we assign to different forms of expression.