The Nineteenth-Century Red Earthenware Vases of Merrimacport, Massachusetts

A recent visit to the Town Hall of Merrimac, Massachusetts (Essex County) left me rather surprised; I was shocked to see a collection of locally made nineteenth-century red earthenware mostly attributed to the Chase family after 1820. Prior to their donation, all of the examples have strong provenances with a long local history. The collection includes simple glazed utilitarian forms like crocks, cups, pots, pans and plates; however I was taken back when I saw three unglazed vases. I had a strong feeling that vases were part of the output in Merrimacport after 1840/1850, but I have never had actual proof of it. It is something that I wrote about in the recent article I wrote for the October 2014 edition of the New England Antiques Journal, "A footnote is appropriate to the Chase Pottery here. According to Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), a form of household decorative pottery was made in Merrimacport in the 1870s and 1880s. She described it as a bric-a-brac product. While not a lot of information is known about this production, it was still likely under the direction of the Chase family. A reddish-gold painted red earthenware bottle (vase) recently emerged in the greater Newburyport, Massachusetts-area, which is likely related to this business. It is very thinly potted with a top and foot that is very similar to characteristics William Pecker would have used on his jugs and  some pots before 1820"

None of the vases at the Town Hall are in the same form; they all vary. The vases are all smaller in size; two do not have a footed base, while the third does. None are glazed.

 19th Century Unglazed Red Earthenware Vase Made in Merrimacport, Ma

Attributed to the Chase (family) Pottery

Photo Courtesy: The Town of Merrimac, Mass.

 19th Century Unglazed Red Earthenware Vase Made in Merrimacport, Ma

Attributed to the Chase (family) Pottery

Photo Courtesy: The Town of Merrimac, Mass.

19th Century Unglazed Red Earthenware Vase Made in Merrimacport, Ma

Attributed to the Chase (family) Pottery

Photo Courtesy: The Town of Merrimac, Mass.

The large vase that I found in the greater Newburyport-area is skillfully painted, which was a characteristic used by some red earthenware potters in New England in the 1870s and moving forward. It's form is spectacular. It's very skillfully hand-thrown. As I indicated in the New England Antiques Journal article - there are obvious characteristics that can be taken from this vase and compared to forms that William Pecker was using in Merrimacport before 1820.

19th Century Painted Red Earthenware Vase Likely Made in Merrimacport, Ma

Attributed to the Chase (family) Pottery

Measures 9 3/4" Tall

Found in the Newburyport, Ma Area

This here is another vase that was likely made by the Chase family; it was found in Keene, New Hampshire a few weeks ago for a dollar. Yup, you heard that correct, a dollar! It is unglazed like the three examples in Merrimac's Town Hall. It's just a great and unusual form that was skillfully made!

 19th Century Red Earthenware Vase Likely Made in Merrimacport, Ma

Attributed to the Chase (family) Pottery

Measures 5 1/2" Tall

Found in Keene, NH

Both Vases Pictured Together for a Comparison

This next miniature vase was found at an Estate sale in Essex, Massachusetts a few years ago. I had never really thought about where it could have been made until writing this report, when it all of a sudden just struck me - it could be a piece made at the Chase Pottery. The clay color is correct. The form and footed base slightly resemble the styles seen on the previous styles. It also has a little bit of glaze on the exterior around the top-half of the vase.

 19th Century Miniature Red Earthenware Vase with Some Glaze Possibly Made in Merrimacport, Ma

Measures 3" Tall

Found in Essex, Ma

All Three Vases Pictured Together

The above information is what I find really fascinating about New England potters after the mid-nineteenth-century; there still a lot to be learned - especially from this period. I hope that information like this keeps coming my way!

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...