The Cabinetmaker, Samuel Wing of Sandwich, Massachusetts and His New England Made Redware Jar

Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts owns a wonderful collection of early American redware - most of which, if not all - was made by New England potters. The collection is mostly made up of nineteenth century examples. As part of the collection, is a very interesting green ovoid shaped storage jar with unusual applied lug handles. The jar was donated as part of an important collection of American antiques that had descended through the Wing family of Massachusetts. Asa S. Wing gifted his great-grandfather's possessions (Samuel Wing) to Sturbridge Village in 1965. The jar exhibits a rare form, with unusual handles and two nicely applied incised rings around the upper half of the body. There was a lid that sat inside the neck of the jar at one time. Like many lids, it was probably dropped, broken and later discarded. The jar does display some body damage. It is not known how it happened beyond having more than the usual expected wear.

Late 18th or 19th Century Redware Storage Jar

Made Before 1854

Descended Through the Wing Family of Massachusetts

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, Ma

Both Sides of Jar

Great Pine Green Glaze

Wonderful Handles, Incised Circles, Great Proportion and Form

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, Ma

Samuel Wing was born in Sandwich, Massachusetts on October 12, 1774. He was of Quaker faith. By the nineteenth century, Samuel was a respected local cabinetmaker. I found it really interesting to read the majority of his clients purchased "good Green colored" chairs as opposed to those that were painted black. Coincidentally, it's the same color green as the jar above. I wonder if there is a connection or if its merely a coincidence. Could he have possibly owned a green jar to go along with the green chairs he often made in his shop? Green also just may have been a color of choice.

It is my understanding that most of the possessions donated to the museum were once used in Samuel's business. While the jar was most likely used in the household for some kind of storage need - I wonder if there is any chance it was used in his shop. Aside from a cabinetmaker, Samuel also reportedly owned a farm, where he sold produce and meat. He was also involved with the cotton and lumber industries.

Upon Samuel's death in 1854, his possessions remained with the Wing family and continued to descend through family members into the twentieth century. There were a number of pieces of furniture that were actually made by Samuel. Forms included chairs, beds, yarn wheels, tables and knife boxes. The emphasis stood with country style furniture. Very few of the of the original possessions were ever discarded over more than a hundred years of Wing family ownership - before the entire collection eventually ended up in Sturbridge.

The jar reminds me of some early nineteenth century forms made in Southern Maine, possibly by John Alld in Biddeford. The idea of this possible attribution comes from other known forms, but I also could be wrong as you'll see if you keep reading. Alld was a respected potter in Hollis, Maine, but before he worked there - he was employed in Biddeford. The manner in which the handles have been applied is similar to other known forms attributed to potters in Portland and Southern Maine.

The question I would ask is that if the jar were a product of the country potters in Southern Maine - how did it travel south into Samuel Wing's ownership before his death in 1854? Samuel reportedly also made supplies for the whalers who worked on Cape Cod and New Bedford, Massachusetts. He produced wooden oars, clamps and mallets. Could one of the whalers have purchased the jar in their travels to Northern New England - before it then eventually came into the home of Samuel Wing? Perhaps, but it's more likely the jar was purchased locally.

It's possible the jar was exported from Maine to Cape Cod, but it seems like an unlikely route considering the strength of the redware industry in Southeastern Massachusetts, which probably supplied most of Cape Cod on a regular basis. It may have been an irregular route the potters of Southern Maine occasionally made. A Maine potter may have even contracted with a local merchant, who was able to purchase earthenware further north at a cheaper rate than what was quoted from the area's potters in Massachusetts.

There have been some examples of nineteenth century Maine redware seen in archaeological districts in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Portsmouth is a border community to Maine - the idea of exporting redware into this area may have been a similar approach like the green jar of discussion. Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) wrote of the idea of Long Island earthenware making its way onto Cape Cod in the nineteenth century. Its possible Cape Cod was a hotspot for many potter's products throughout New England since a true industry did not exist. The industries were located further west in Berkley, Taunton, Somerset and Scituate.

The potters, Daniel Parker, Benjamin Parker and Noah Bradford did work in Barnstable, Massachusetts in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Not a lot is known of their work; however this may be an example of their output, which would indicate Maine style forms were made in Southern Massachusetts. There was only about a ten mile distance between the Parker-Bradford Pottery and Wing's business - making this a potential in the jar's origin. Shards from the Parker-Bradford Pottery show thickly potted wares that almost resemble products used for industrial purposes. The green jar is thickly potted - so there may be a connection. The Parker-Bradford shards are shown in Brian's Cullity's book, Slipped and Glazed: Regional American Redware.

The jar's form is typically associated with Maine, but similar jars were also made in Vermont and Western New York. The glaze color was applied by some potters in New Hampshire. Could this jar be an earlier maker, possibly an eighteenth century form from a potter in Southern New England who is not entirely understood today? It's unlikely to me, but anything is possible. Could the jar be from the Parker-Bradford Pottery or another local potter? Local makers usually do make sense in an area that mostly saw local distribution. I personally view the jar as a Maine maker at the moment, but it is interesting knowing that it was used by Samuel Wing in Sandwich sometime before 1854. The idea of possibly attributing it to the Parker-Bradford Pottery is also exciting. I am not sure there is anything associated with this business beyond the shards Brian Cullity displayed in the redware exhibit he put on at the Sandwich Museum in 1992. The book accompanied the exhibit. If that were the case - the jar may be the only form currently attributed to the Parker-Bradford business of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It seems exciting to me!

Here is the link to the jar on Old Sturbridge Village's website.

For more reading on Samuel Wing - I suggest the March 1968 volume of the Magazine Antiques.

I hope to bring more information about this jar in the furture. It could potentially hold a lot of new information to a nearly unknown Cape Cod business where new attributions can be built from - or its merely a very rare piece of early Maine redware.

Please stay tuned for more!