EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: An Unusually Formed Pitcher Only Found in New Hampshire and Maine

Thursday, November 21, 2013

An Unusually Formed Pitcher Only Found in New Hampshire and Maine - A Comparison to Buxton, Maine Shards

I had suggested in the past that this pitcher may have been a product of the later potters in Charlestown, Massachusetts due to a glaze comparison; however I no longer believe that. This pitcher appears to be a product of a potter who worked in the 1840s. That is much too late for the Charlestown potters. My reason for the possible Charlestown attribution was due to the support handle which you typically see with eighteenth century techniques in a variety of industries of the American colonies and England. It was also found near Portsmouth, New Hampshire which Charlestown had ties to. I believe there is much stronger evidence discussed below that would suggest otherwise.

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The Buxton, Maine site that contains the remains of multiple generations of the nineteenth century Bickford Pottery and likely the eighteenth century remains of Ebenezer Wentworth has provided some very interesting results. The surface has only been scratched on the potential information which lays beneath the earth; however, very initial investigations have yielded some impressive results.

Shards very close in glaze to this following pitcher have been found that seem related. The pitcher's form is very unique. There have been suggestions saying it may have been made in Pennsylvania, but a group of well-known Pennsylvania redware experts have discredited that idea. There are four known pitchers of this form - all found within fifty miles of Buxton. They have been found in Dover, New Hampshire, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine. The last example was a part of the Tom and Nancy Lindsey collection that sold in 2005 at Stephen Cyr Auctions in Gray, Maine. That particular example showed a glaze that is commonly seen in earthenware produced in Essex County Massachusetts and extended up through the Saco River Region of southern Maine. The Lindsey's collected all of their antiques from homes in New Hampshire over a forty year period. Very-little came from elsewhere. That particular pitcher is assumed to have been native to a nearby potter in New Hampshire or Maine. Based on the shard evidence I have seen in Buxton - I believe all of these pitchers were possibly manufactured in the southern Maine region and perhaps in Buxton.

It may be surprising to see this by many Maine redware collectors. I had always gone back and forth between a Portsmouth and possible Maine attribution due to a group shards seen in a nineteenth century context at the Deer Street archaeology site in Portsmouth. Deer Street is a part of Portsmouth near Strawbery Banke that was excavated before a hotel went in. The small community provided a great deal of locally made redware - most of which appeared nineteenth century.

All the shards recovered from Deer Street appear to be imports from mostly Maine potters and the rest west of the city in New Hampshire. Portsmouth did not have much of an earthenware industry in the nineteenth century - it saw one before the American Revolution, but afterwards - the city was mostly dependent on outside potters for its finer examples of earthenware. The city also had ties to Exeter, New Hampshire's industry, but those were traditionally much lesser decorated wares of utilitarian forms.

Redware Handled Pitcher with Unusual Support Handle

Probably Made Between 1840-1860

Found in a Home in Dover, New Hampshire

Unusual Glazed Bottom

Original Lid with Odd Form
Great Support Handle
Never Seen Another American Made Redware Pitcher with a Support Handle Before

Odd Formed Handled that Has Been Seen with Cream and Gray Colored Jugs and Pitchers in Maine
*Handle is Not Exactly the Same to the Jugs and Pitchers, but is Similar*

The Buxton site has also provided shards of forms that have been glazed on the base similar to what is seen on the pitcher. The lids I have seen in both whole and broken forms are similar to this form. Many have a warped appearance as does this lid. This type of glaze was not in abundance at the Buxton site, but it was occasionally seen. It is not a glaze commonly associated with Maine potters. I remember when I purchased this pitcher it had been passed by many because of the glazed base, but I had previously seen the shards in Portsmouth and knew it had the potential for a very important piece.

Shard Found at Wentworth-Bickford Site in Buxton, Me

Probably From a Mid 19th Century Context

Here are a group of additional shard types and glazes from Buxton that I feel are worth sharing. The cream colored glazed shard is very similar to a rare group of lidded jars that are known. It features a lighter and darker cream glaze - also notice the very light colored clay. Maine potters are mostly known for darker red colored clay on their finished products. The clay colors varied in southern Maine. The jars I am referring to typically have one incised line about three-quarters of the way up the body - a similar incised technique like the deep incisions on the shard below.

The jar lids are oddly glazed on both the top and bottom. It appears the potters who worked in Buxton may have occasionally applied glaze to the bottom of their finer wares. The collective Buxton industry was extremely experimental with its glazes. They probably made thousands of pieces each year. The business did show a focus towards traditional utilitarian wares, but finer forms were made, too. Those finer forms will certainly be lesser seen in the shards assemblage due to the quantity of production compared to other forms.

Cream Colored Glaze on Interior of Redware Shard
Probably a Milk Pan or Some Type of Large Shallow Bowl

19th Century

Darker Colored Cream Glaze on Exterior of Redware Shard

Notice the Light Colored Clay - Not a Traditional Color Seen in Maine

19th Century

A jar also recently emerged with the same variations of cream in the glaze that was accompanied with a very old note that read, "This pot was found in the basement of the Jones House, 5 miles south of Cornish Maine." The form of this jar is slightly similar to the type of jars mentioned above. It was also partially glazed on the bottom.