EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Mysterious Red Earthenware Jar Purchased from a Prominent Collection at Skinner, Inc. in Boston in 2006

Sunday, February 8, 2015

A Mysterious Red Earthenware Jar Purchased from a Prominent Collection at Skinner, Inc. in Boston in 2006

I have been studying and collecting pottery for the better part of a decade now. I remember when my father brought home my first piece of redware from a local flea market in Essex County, Massachusetts in the summer of 1999. I didn't realize at the time that it would help ignite the appreciation I have for research, archaeology, picking, collecting and writing; however, without that early black glazed jug, I may never have realized the true passion I have for this today. I consider that piece as the beginning point of my collection.

Upon graduating from college in 2004, I was kind of stuck in that place in life where I haven't quite found my way in the "real world," yet, but college was also in my past. My father was semi-retired from his career of building jet engines for General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts - and he was dabbling in the antiques industry with a small number of old acquaintances he and my mother had established years prior when they were more active buying and selling antiques and restoring homes in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

I had recently purchased my first antique at a local antique shop. I still have it today. It hangs high-above a small jelly cupboard I have in my house that is filled with American-made pottery. Its a primitive ocean seen that captivated me at the time. A question I ask many of my friends today when I visit their beautiful homes across New England and other parts of the country - that being, "Do you still know what was your first antique? Do you still own your first antique? Do you still own your first piece of redware or stoneware?" Surprisingly, they almost all say, "Yes!" - and if they don't still have it - they certainly remember it.

As a kid growing up, I remember going to a number of auctions with my father in parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. In October of 2004, I went along with my father to a sale that Northeast Auctions held in Manchester, New Hampshire. The auction-house was selling off an important collection of glass that my father had an interest in. Aside from that portion of the sale - Northeast Auctions also brought along additional prominent consignments. This was the sale that grasped my attention into the antiques business. I remember it was a packed room - and I will admit that at the time - I was intimated. Nonetheless, I came home with a wonderful primitive painting of a shore scene painted in Cohasset, Massachusetts that was signed and dated by the artist. This painting now hangs above my set of Ceramics in America books. I have been following the antiques business and especially auction-results ever since this day.

By 2006, I had begun collecting pottery with an interest in stoneware; although, I had a great appreciation for red earthenware no matter where it was made. On November fourth of that year, I went to a sale at Skinner, Inc.'s auction gallery at Park Plaza in Boston. Auctioneer, Stephen Fletcher, whom my parents actually remember as an auction runner for Skinner Auctions in Marlborough, Massachusetts in the 1970's - sold off an important collection of American-made folk art that included a collection of redware that I was inspired to model my collection after. The sale included examples of redware made in Essex County, Massachusetts, Merrimacport, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Ohio, Maine and Pennsylvania. I admired the pictures in this particular auction catalog for years to come. I still go back to it today to reminisce of how an important collection that was for me to see at the time. While I sat at the sale, I imagined what it would be like to own such a collection - and it was something I was inspired to do someday. At the time, it was the finest collection of New England-made pottery that I had ever seen.

I was not merely a spectator at this sale - I was there to bid. I bid on a number of the lots; however, I didn't understand the high prices at the time when they reached into the thousands. Needless to say, I came home with three pieces from this collection that I still own today. One example is believed to be either a northern Massachusetts or southern Maine vinegar jug; although, I believe it was likely made closer to Maine than Massachusetts. I also purchased a group lot that consisted of a Pennsylvania red earthenware jar and a beautifully hand-thrown colorful red earthenware jar with a stamped number on the front of it. This jar has always been a mystery to me - and I have never found a complete believable attribution. In tonight's report - I would like to dissect this piece that may have been used as an apothecary jar in a period nineteenth-century country-style kitchen.

The jar itself measures six-and-a-half inches tall. There are two decorative incised lines placed around the shoulder. The jar is also decorated with a green and orange mottled glaze covered in black dots. The dots are likely the result of something the potter either threw in with the glaze or something that was around the potter's business that got into the glaze. This jar never had a lid. If necessary, a cloth would have been tied over the top to seal the contents. The most notable characteristic that I can see on this jar beyond the form and glaze is the use of stamped numbers, which in this case - may reveal the number 14. The number fourteen could also be mistaken for 1/4; however, after thinking about this feature for almost ten years now - I believe the jar is stamped with the number 14.

This is a rare piece! I have only ever seen one other jar like it with a similar glaze and number. That jar was sold by Maine dealers and collectors, Charles Berdan and Thomas Jewett, who often specialize in Maine-made products. Their jar was stamped with the number 19 even though it could also be interpreted as 1/9.

Hand-Thrown 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with Green, Orange and Dotted Black Glaze

Decorated with Incised Lines on the Shoulder

Also Marked with Stamped Numbers

Stands 6 1/2" Tall

Purchased from an Important Private Collection at Skinner, Inc. in Boston in 2006

Possibly Made by a Maine Pottter

View of the Stamped Numbers

It Either Reads 14 or 1/4

View of the Interior

View of the Base

A Similar Jar that was Sold by Jewett-Berdan Antiques in Maine
Photo Courtesy: Jewett-Berdan Antiques - Newcastle, Maine

A Closer Look at the Jar
Photo Courtesy: Jewett-Berdan Antiques - Newcastle, Maine

As I have already indicated, the characteristic that sticks out to me the most on this jar is the stamped number(s), which is a characteristic that was applied in southern Maine. There is not much to go by for this characteristic, but I do have a comparison that I can make. There is a small number of hand-thrown nineteenth-century red earthenware spice jars known today that are attributed to the potter, Thomas Truxton Kendrick in Hollis, Maine. A similar group of spice jars (same form) is also attributed to the Dodge Pottery in Portland, Maine during the same period with a different style glaze and the jar's intended use stenciled in slip (i.e. spice, nutmeg...etc.) prominently on the front. There has been debate in recent years over where these jars were made since they vary greatly in decoration, but the forms are identical. Theories suggest the jars may have been made in Portland, they may have been made in Hollis or there may be a connection between the two potters, where one may be responsible for the production even though both potters sold the jars.

I had the privilege of examining a small group of these jars recently from a prominent Maine collection and it is believed that these jars are more likely related to Thomas Truxton Kendrick than the Dodge Pottery. There is a lot of debate that can be had over these jars and their ultimate origin.

These jars and lids are all stamped (also the same stamp was used) with numbers similar to which is seen on the jar of discussion in this report. The stamps are not the same, but the general idea does seem similar. It is possible that a local potter in the Portland, Maine or Hollis, Maine areas may have used the style found on the following spice jars for inspiration and developed their own stamps. It is the only concept I have been able to develop in ten-years into a possible area for where the jar shown above may have been made. But nonetheless, in the same sense, I also believe it is a good argument!