An Unusual Slip Decorated Pitcher Dated 1865 with Similarities in Form to Many Industries

This report can be in keeping with the report from a few days ago about eighteenth century slip decorated shards.

Here I am seeking any type of quality input from any readers who are generous enough to lend their knowledge. This pitcher recently emerged in Connecticut. My initial thought was Hervey Brooks because of the manner in which the slip decoration was applied. The form also looks like a Connecticut potter, however - the interior slip decoration is not something usually seen from early American potters.

I showed the pitcher to a very knowledge Pennsylvania dealer yesterday and he felt it was not made in that state. He said it could have been southern, but he was not sure about it. He even said it may have been made in England. The form doesn't really seem English to me, but I am not an English ceramic expert.

The pitcher resembles a cross between an Essex County Massachusetts and Connecticut form.The flat area seen around the lip reminds me of forms made in South Danvers, Massachusetts. The handle placement and form is seen from Connecticut potters. The form is also similar to some pitchers made in New York and Pennsylvania.

I am also not sure how this amount of slip would affect the color of the clay. It's thinly potted when compared to the cruder, country pitchers that were produced in nineteenth century America. If you notice the bottom in the picture at the end of the report, you'll notice it is a lighter color.

These are my questions - I know slip decoration was used in parts of New York and throughout Connecticut. Could this pitcher be tied to either of these areas? I know there's also a chance it may be from England, but the exterior decoration is like nothing I have ever seen from that country - and neither is the form. Are the stew pot (below) and pitcher tied in with a possible maker? The stew pot is very similar to known forms made throughout New England and Pennsylvania in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. The stew pot also shows yellow and green slip, which is also a characteristic of Connecticut potters.

I think a Connecticut attribution is possible - since the potters of that state placed a heavy emphasis towards slip decoration in the nineteenth century; however, below you will also see arguments for other areas, too.

 19th Century Redware Pitcher

Similar Forms Seen in Connecticut and Massachusetts
Similar Glaze Styles Seen in America and Europe

Stands 8 3/4 Inches Tall

Wonderful Slip Decoration

The handle is nearly identical to a Connecticut form attributed by Lura Woodside Watkins - out of her collection now in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The only difference are the ribs added to the black pitcher's handle, but I have seen William Pecker use both techniques in Merrimacport, Massachusetts between 1790 and 1820. That should not discredit the near mirror image seen between the two handles.

I really think these two handles are indicative of a possible maker.

 

The Handle of Redware Pitcher

Similar Handle to a Connecticut Pitcher from the Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

Manganese (Black) Glazed Redware Pitcher - Connecticut

19th Century

Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

Photo Courtesy: The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

The slip glazed interior is rather unusual for early American potters. I know of a nineteenth century slip decorated stew pot that may be of the same origin. The potters who worked in Staffordshire England used to decorate some of their earthenware in a similar slip technique in the eighteenth century.

Slip Glazed Interior is Rather Unusual for Early American Potters

19th Century Redware Stew Pot

Similar Forms Made Throughout New England
Possibly Connecticut or Virginia
Interior Slip Glaze Similar to the Pitcher

Small Slip Decorated Earthenware Mug

Probably Made in Staffordshire, England

18th Century

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc - Boston

Part of the pitcher's glaze was not covered in a clear lead glaze. The vast majority of it was, which gave it a glass-like smooth feeling. The exposed clay and glaze underneath the lead glaze appears rough. A similar style was seen on a Hervey Brooks pan attributed by Watkins in her collection at the Smithsonian. Look closely at the photos below and you'll see what I am referring to. 

If you also look at the manner in which the slip was applied on the Brooks pan, with the straight and way lines - it is very similar to the style used on the pitcher.

Glaze and Clay Not Covered by Clear Lead Glaze

Appears Rough in Some Sections
Similar to Some Areas on Hervey Brooks Dish Below

Hervery Brooks Attributed Redware Dish - Goshen, Ct

Ca. 1825-1875

Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

Photo Courtesy: The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

The pitcher is also signed and dated. I can read M.K., which I assume is the potter. It is dated -1865-, but there are one or two words below the initials and above the date that I cannot make out. Any ideas on what it may say? I've tried, but the letters I assemble are not comprehensive. You can also see the green and yellow slip decoration on the base that is similar to the stew pot from above. I am not necessarily attributing it to Hervey Brooks, but I am saying Brooks was an active potter in 1865. There may have been some sort of influence between Brooks and another potter - or it may be merely a coincidence.

Initials, Word(s) and Date Written on the Base of the Pitcher
It is Dated -1865-

Any Help is Much Appreciated!

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