France? Quebec (Or Canada)? Maine? Massachusetts? Newly Discovered Early Redware Jug

"The households of early Americans imported the out-fittings of their tables from the kilns of England, the fine potteries of France, and later, from the orient. Little native pottery, made by isolated potters, was turned out until after the middle of the eighteenth-century. But the early part of the nineteenth brought more interest in home-manufactured earthenware." (About Antiques, Ella Shannon Bowles - 1929) With this idea in mind - imports created a lesser impact on the American culture of the nineteenth-century than the earlier wares seen in colonial America.

19th Century Redware Pitcher or Field Jug

Country of Origin: Presently Not Known

Height: 15 Inches

Base: 7 Inches Diameter

Opening at Top: 5 Inches in Diameter

Handle: 5 Inches Wide

Support Handle: 2.5 Inches Wide
Spout: 2.5 Inches Long

Weight: 7.2 Pounds

(Note: The jug is not this green in person and the red clay is not the pinkish color it appears in some of the photos below. It is green...somewhat the color of Southeastern, Massachusetts and the red clay is a brownish-red.)

Over the weekend, I discovered this harvest-type jug in a coastal Maine junk shop. It is an example of early redware with a very unique form and unusual glaze color. The shopkeeper told me it was just pulled from a Maine estate. The pot was filthy. It came with a mouse nest inside of it. The form appeared unusual to me and the weight felt about right. The foot at the base was rounded - which is at the very least, a characteristic of early American potters. Both handles were wonderful, especially the main carrying handle. The support handle was ribbed in such a way that  appeared similar to some of the pitchers I have seen from the early Southeastern, Massachusetts potters. The Bristol County, Massachusetts potters working along the Taunton River are also known for working in a green glaze.

I should also note that the weight appears to be of typical American pottery weight. The weight of redware produced in Mexico and some continental nations is light, but the weight of this jug is what would be expected of anything produced in America.

Support Handle's Attachment Appears Like Some Southeastern, Massachusetts Redware Pitchers

Mid 19th Century - Likely 1820-1860

I am not positive this form is a harvest jug, but it appears similar in form to the known nineteenth-century stoneware and redware American examples - please keep in mind the idea of "similar," but not exact. It may have had a lid at one time - I am not positive. Harvest or field jugs were originally used in the ancient worlds of Egypt, Greece and Rome. They were intended was for use in the fields so workers could have a cold drink without the need for a glass or mug. A decent amount of water could also be carried or transported in them.

Possibly Pennsylvania Stoneware Harvest or Field Jug
Also Suggested to be Decker Family Pottery of East Tennessee

Mid 19th Century

Sold: $18,000 in 2005

Photo Courtesy: Pook and Pook Auctions - Downington, Pa

Southeastern, Massachusetts Redware Harvest or Field Jug

Circa 1800-1830

Ex Collection: Charles D. Cook - Cape Cod, Ma (Possibly Ex Nolan Collection - Cape Cod, Ma)

Sold: $4,400 in 2003

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston, Ma

"Harvest jugs were used to carry water to the fields. They were filled through the large spout and emptied through the smaller. The jug was held high in the air and tilted so the water would squirt out into the mouth. This type of water jug was used in several European countries long before they were made in America." (Early American Folk Pottery, Harold Guilland - 1971)

With the idea of harvest jugs used in other countries years before the form was ever produced in America - I first began my research in my library of continental European books. My initial feeling when I saw the glaze was a French potter had produced it. I started with Bernard Duplessy's 2003 book, "The French Country Table: Pottery and Faience of Provence." 

A very similar example called a cruche is seen in Duplessy's book. "It had a round belly, one lateral handle, and then a second handle, similar to a basket handle that crossed over the opening. It also had a tubular spout." This described form was similar to the the jug I found in Maine, but not exact. The ovoid form of the Maine-found example is much-more expected with American examples of stoneware and redware. The form pictured in Duplessy's book became slightly narrower at the base and the glaze did not extend all the way to the bottom.

Redware Cruche Without Basket Handle - Likely France

Early to Mid 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Midwest Auction Galleries - Oxford, Mi 

Pottery French Cruche 

Likely 19th Century

Duplessy's book also discussed a dourgo, which was produced in a number of regions in France. The form is similar to the described cruche. "It's capacity remained relatively small, just about two quarts (two liters), until the nineteenth-century, when the volume of dourgo was tripled." I feel the Maine example could possibly hold upwards of six liters, but the form shown in the book was not exactly what is expected of the Maine-find.

It is assumed the found jug may have had a rope handle at one time so it could be tied to a donkey or horse's saddle for travel. There were occasionally two harvest jugs attached to each side of the saddle so there was no play while traveling. The weight was relatively equal on both sides.

Probably American- Made Stoneware Harvest Jug with Rope Attached

Mid to Late 19th Century

The found form shares similarities to both harvest jugs and pitchers. I would assume it could also be used for table service and act as an early redware pitcher did.

According to Duplessy's book, cruche glaze colors were typically reddish, brown, yellow or green. Interestingly, the French purchased green cruches to appear rich (wealthy). Early French-made green cruches are considered very rare. The glaze was much more expensive to make than any other glaze color.

I have never seen a form like the discovered jug's before. Green is agreeably a rare glaze color, but aside from that, the form just seems so unique. There was a great deal a skill needed from the potter to produced such a form.

Duplessy also metions the cantir or kanti. "It had a well-rounded belly, that could hold some two quarts (two liters), a bridge-like handle that could be grasped from above, a hole for filling on one side and another very small one on the opposite side (for drinking)." This form is too small to compare to the Maine-find and it reminds me much-more of the smaller early American field jugs.

All of the forms discussed from Duplessy's book were described by the author as highly functional and very carefully designed, but the forms in Duplessy's book are not quite exact to this specific found-form. Could it be French made? Possibly, but I am not convinced.

However, I would not necessarily make a French attribution just yet. French potters and their work greatly influenced the pottery produced in early Quebec. It is reported that no more than a dozen potters operated in Quebec before 1850 and very little is known of their work.

Canadian pottery gets very little attention from collectors today - and there has been very little research attempted on the subject. Occasionally, examples of early Canadian pottery are mistaken for the products of Maine, Vermont and New York potters.

The survival rate of all Quebec earthenware made before 1870 is reportedly extremely low.

Quebec in the nineteenth-century was largely dominated by the English imports, but "the pottery (domestic), like most other craft products, was still ethnically quite French, and showed little if any influence either from the growing English population or from English imported ceramics."

"By the third-quarter of the 19th century (circa 1870), English ceramics were so readily available to the bulk of the population that it was virtually impossible for native craft products to survive." (Early Canadian Pottery, Donald Blake Webester - 1971)

On page 47 of Webster's book, a jar is pictured, which is suggested to be the product of an early French potter. The carrying handle is exact in form to the Maine-found jar. Webster suggests it may have been made in eighteenth-century France, but I disagree. He has no real strong support for his theory. I feel it was made in eighteenth-century Quebec.

To support my theory - a near similar, if not exact jar is known in a well-known, important and long-time Connecticut collection. It's carrying handle is exact in form to the Maine-found jar. This jar is reportedly attributed to an unknown Maine potter. It was found in Maine. It is also, like the Maine-found jar, very colorful in glaze. It is believed to be a nineteenth-century example (much later than the form in Webster's book) that is considered extremely rare. Both interior glazes match (private collection and Maine find) exactly in color, technique and style. Could there be an argument for a Maine attribution? Is there a connection between these two pieces?

Carrying Handle and Interior Glaze

Second Photo of Handle

There were a handful of small Maine potters that very-little is known about today. At one time - the Maine border extended much further into Canada. There is a strong French influence in both Maine and Canada. Could a possible French-influenced unknown potter working up near the Maine and Canadian border have produced this found-jar at one time? Could the jug be Quebec-French in origin? How about a Maine-French connection?

A well-known Maine antiques dealer has found boxes upon boxes of redware shards and kiln furniture on his property in Maine. Many of the shards are described as green. There is no known documented potter ever working near his property or in the town that he resides in (Limington, Me) -- I will eventually be studying these shards. There is still so much-more to be learned about Maine pottery. A lot is known today, but unlike the other states of New England where the potter's business was an industry - in Maine, it was an industry for some - while for others, it was away to supplement their income. Many of these small potters are not known today. Their work is currently left unknown and open for interpretation due to a lack of concrete or documented knowledge.

Unglazed Base of Redware Jug

Close Up of Left Over Kiln Furniture Stuck to Base

The potters of Southeastern Massachusetts are believed to be the only ones working with field jugs in early New England. There is at least one known jug that may be of Vermont in origin. Could  a Maine potter be responsible for a similar form that is not presently known?

I know it's a long-shot, but could this jug be Massachusetts in origin? I have heard well-established dealers and collectors say the Southeastern Massachusetts field jugs appear French in influence. Could this found-jug be American-made - with a French appearance and influence?

There have even been some unusual green glazes that have appeared at Portsmouth, New Hampshire archaeological sites. The sherds are assumed to be early domestic, but an attribution is not known. A Portsmouth connection is unlikely, but you never know within the unpredictable field of early ceramics.

Benjamin Dodge is also known for working with a green glaze in nineteenth-century Portland, Maine.

The interior jug's glaze resembles the colors occasionally used by John Alld of Biddeford, Maine. I am not making an Alld attribution - only a comparison - take a look and compare to the interior glaze of the Maine-found jug.

Possibly John Alld Redware Jug - Biddeford, Me
Sold: $4,000 in 2008

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston, Ma

 Better Look at Glaze Comparison

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston, Ma

I feel the found jug likely dates around 1820 to 1860. I do not believe there to be a great French import industry of this period. How did it end up in America? Maine? Did someone travel to America from France and bring the jug with them? Could it be Canadian or Maine made? There are a lot of potentially important questions that need to be answered before any sort of attribution is suggested.

I would love to hear some feedback on this subject! All opinions, suggestions and questions are welcome.

Much more to come...