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As I have previously mentioned in past blogs, it is common knowledge amongst your average collector, dealer and institution alike that West Amesbury, Massachusetts (known as Merrimacport today) is regarded as William Pecker territory. I think most will agree that Pecker's wares were incredible and some of the best utilitarian pottery ever produced in this country, but as I have also previously mentioned, a handful of other potters are known to have worked in the area despite Pecker receiving basically all of the credit today.
One notable potter who trained and worked with Pecker was his nephew James Chase (1779-1849). According to Lura Woodside Watkins, Chase was the son of Pecker's sister Hannah and Edmund Chase and just so we don't get Pecker's sister's confused with each other - Hannah is a completely different sister from the the one who I have previously mentioned who was married to the potter Benjamin Dodge.
Chase probably didn't realize it at the time, but by today's standards he was working and learning from one of the all-time great utilitarian potters.
Merrimacport, Massachusetts Pitcher
The above pitcher shares all the Pecker characteristics that someone would look for to attribute a piece to Pecker. Its glaze consists of the traditional cinnamon/orange glaze spread over the body while carefully decorated with manganese in the manner that Pecker's hands are known for. The yellowing in the glaze around the lip is arguably a result of the firing process within the kiln. It adds an added appeal for decoration that most likely was not intended. Everything about this pitcher from my standpoint says Pecker to me.
I'll show you the handle in a moment, but let me describe to
you what a Pecker handle for me personally represents. The Pecker handle on any
jar, cup, bowl, mug pitcher, stew pot or jug - is one of the most refined and
accomplished utilitarian handles in American pottery history. Pecker's handles
in my opinion stand second to none. You can look at some jugs and pitchers from
other potters who are accomplished in form and when you then look at the handle
it's nothing more than a handle and average - it's nothing special. There is no
real appeal to it. Pecker put the time and effort into mastering his work with
handles. It would appear that Pecker took pride in every stage of the potter's
art. It's evident in what he has left behind in his memory. The Pecker handle
should be considered an unmistakeable work of art.
The pitcher that we first discussed does not have a finely accomplished handle like I just mentioned. It is much more primitive and crude. I have always gone back and forth guessing and trying to figure out whether it was a pitcher made in South Danvers, Massachusetts by the the Osborn Family or if it was just plain and simple a poorly executed handle on a pitcher by Pecker. Everyone occasionally has a bad day - and maybe this was one of those days for Pecker.
John Osborn Pitcher - South Danvers,
Ma
To continue: James Chase married Olive Lucas, a Charlestown native - and you can once again see the ties between Merrimacport and Charlestown.
James Chase also had a son who was employed in the potter's industry, Phineas - and like Pecker and James, Phineas trained under his father. After James passed away in 1840, Phineas operated the Merrimacport business until his death in 1864. Despite Phineas' death, there are records of the company still in operation in 1865 and thereafter.
In 1856, the New England Business Directory lists the firm Chase and Kendrick - and a recently discovered bill of sale (which was discovered at the time Watkins was writing Early New England Potters and Their Wares) reveals some kind of association with "Kendrick and Mann" - and "West Amesbury Pottery." I haven't researched this enough to know what it entails. I do know the name Kendrick is a well-known, sought after and respected Maine potter.
Thomas Truxton Kendrick was an extremely accomplished potter from Hollis, Maine. His glazes are what he is most known for today and as a result they are extremely desirable amongst collectors. His works are rare, but some have survived. He is also known for numbering his lidded jars with Roman numerals. He most likely did this to avoid confusion after the firing process. To briefly explain, the lid and jar would be in separate parts of the kiln - and after this process some potters wanted to match the jars and lids up correctly thus the numbering idea. They were all hand-made so it was somewhat of a puzzle if they were not numbered. Pecker's lids and jars in some cases do not resemble the same glaze after the firing process and this was most likely a result of being fired in a different part of the kiln - thus you probably understand the method behind the numbers. I would assume that all potters have their own approach to this idea. New England potters who used numbers on their lids and jars will be a future blog post. They are even known to have glazed their numbers on in color.
Thomas Kendrick Jar - Center
Photo Courtesy: Tim Gould Auctions -
Smithfield and Gardiner, Me
Watkins described the ware, style and glaze of the Chase Pottery Company from a collection she viewed while writing her book more than sixty years ago. A few of the pieces are pictured in her book. The collection had descended through a Merrimacport family- and from this collection she describes the wares in a common utilitarian style that were not glazed on the outside. Rather, all were "only" glazed on the inside in dark brown or burnet.
Chase Pottery Milk Pan or Deep Bowl
Pictured in Watkins Book - Figure 76
Similar Milk Pans Like This Were Also Made Elsewhere
Watkins goes on to further discuss another Chase running the Merrimacport pottery by the name of Richard. John Donovan is even mentioned as a Merrimacport potter by Watkins or at the very least she associates him in some way to the pottery.
Donovan was a traveling potter during the 19th and 20th centuries who worked most notably for Moses Paige Pottery in Peabody. He also worked in East Brookfield and possibly West Sterling, Massachusetts - and Keene, New Hampshire.
Left: Donovan Flower Pot - Likely
Keene, NH
Middle: Donovan Flower Pot - Likely West
Sterling, Ma
Right: Donovan Flower Pot - Peabody,
Ma
Moses Paige Pottery Flower Pot -
"Peabody Pot"
Found at a flea market in 2012
There Are Many Reproductions Like This Made by Guy Wolf in Connecticut
There Are Many Reproductions Like This Made by Guy Wolf in Connecticut
I have not been able to determine an actual date for when the Chase Pottery closed its doors for good. My guess is it was sometime during the third quarter of the 19th century - and like most utilitarian potters of this time period, unless they changed their products' direction towards more of an art pottery approach, the demand for these such wares phased out. Art pottery became popular during the late 19th and into the 20th century - and even more so during the Arts and Crafts movement.
Merrimac Pottery Company
(1897-1908) Vase
Thomas Nickerson - Portland, Me and
Newburyport, Ma
Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc - Boston
The legacy of the Dodge, Pecker and Chase pottery family began with Benjamin Dodge in the 18th century, extended through William Pecker beginning around 1780 through 1820 until it descended down through the generations of Chases well into the second half of the 19th century. If it were not for marriage and Pecker training under his brother in-law, Benjamin, this legacy and skill may have never been achieved from either Pecker or the Chases.
Thank you for reading.
Stay tuned...
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