EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Comparison of Painted Red Earthenware Products Found in a Variety of Contexts Mostly in Essex County, Massachusetts

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

A Comparison of Painted Red Earthenware Products Found in a Variety of Contexts Mostly in Essex County, Massachusetts

I would like to do a quick compare and contrast today with a few hand-thrown red earthenware products that were found in-and-around the Salem, Massachusetts and Beverly, Massachusetts areas in the last year or-so - along with a large red earthenware jar that just appeared at a bottle show in South Carolina and a pair of red earthenware vases that were originally found in coastal Newburyport, Massachusetts (only a few miles north of Beverly and Salem). Since there has been some discussion lately given to the origin of these kinds of products - I will leave my opinion and research out - and leave the interpretation up to the reader. This first jar was brought to my attention a few weeks ago through social media - it appeared at a bottle show in South Carolina that I believe was the 2015 Columbia, South Carolina Bottle Show, which happened on Friday February 20th and Saturday February 21st. I can tell from the appearance of this vase that it was hand-thrown, hand-painted - and hand-decorated with wavy combed incising, figure-eight combed incising, hand-drawn deep geometric incising (done with a wider tool than usually seen on other incised products) and two applied decorative handles with distinct finger impressions. From my observations, this is a great piece! I would love to own it!

Wonderful Hand-Thrown Painted Red Earthenware Pot

The Paint and Decoration is Great!

Stands Roughly 14" Tall

Recently Emerged at a Bottle Show in South Carolina

Photo Courtesy: Jim Witkowski - Camden, SC

Coincidentally, on my way home from an Americana auction preview at Skinner, Inc. in Boston last weekend - I decided to stop at a few antique shops in Salem, Massachusetts. Surprisingly, I found a small painted red earthenware pot that was likely manufactured by the same potter as the vase that appeared at the bottle show in South Carolina (shown above). The form is a little smaller; however, it exhibits the exact same figure-eight combed decoration, very similar decorative handles with the same distinct finger impressions, similar incised geometric designs and the same wavy combed incising. I asked the shop owner where it came from - she told me it was recently discovered in an old home in Salem. She said it was donated to the shop (along with other antiques from the home), where the proceeds would benefit the local animal shelter. A few people working in the shop actually commented on it when I asked for a price - they felt it was at least one-hundred-years old. One guy in particular said, "That's a beautiful piece. I think it dates from the turn of the twentieth-century." Unfortunately, they didn't have any additional information to contribute than that. The pot has obviously seen quite a bit of use over the years; although, it is an incredible survivor that shows the true skill of the potter.

Hand-Thrown Painted Red Earthnware Pot

The Pot Exhibits All Kinds of Wonderful Decoration

Recently Found in an Old Home in Salem, Mass
Stands 9 3/4" Tall

Another View of the Pot

View of Wavy Combed Incising

View of the Handles and the Top of the Pot

View of the Incised Decoratiion

View of the Figure-Eight Combed Incising

View of the Base

View of the Pot with No Camera Flash

The following pair of hand-thrown vases were purchased at a flea market in Essex County, Massachusetts in the spring of 2014. I was thrilled when I came across them. They are a perfect match to each other. I believe I bought them last April; I remember it was a cold day that saw temperatures barely get above freezing, but it didn't really matter to me because I was purely excited to be outdoors picking for pottery and antiques after a long winter. I asked the dealer where he found them; he told me he recently purchased them from an older person who owns a Victorian Period home in nearby Newburyport, Massachusetts.

From what I can see: the vases were both hand-thrown - and they are decorated with similar wavy combed incising as-seen on the previous two products. The paint color is also comparable. What's especially nice about these vases is the applied leaf decoration; there is also additional incised decoration and stamped decoration seen. I assume it's quite a rarity to own a pair of these - I've actually never seen anything else quite like them before.

Pair of Painted Hand-Thrown Red Earthenware Vases with Detailed Decoration

The Pots Were Purchased at a Flea Market Last Spring

They Were Reportedly Originally Found in a Victorian Period House in Salem, Mass.

Each Measure Approximately 14" Tall

Close Up of the Wavy Combed Incising

This next pot was found by an antique dealer I know in Salem last year; he also happens to run a small shop in Salem with his wife. It was in his shop that I actually came across this pot. Interestingly, the hand-thrown pot exhibits a similar paint color as the two vases above; even more importantly, the pot is decorated with a similar leaf decoration (grape leaves) as the pair of vases shown above that were originally found in Newburyport. The detail is wonderful on this piece! Besides a small missing piece from the end of one of the leaf vines - everything else is still intact.

Large Painted Hand-Thrown Pot with Detailed Applied Decoration

Originally Found in Salem, Mass.

Stands 10 3/4" Tall

Another View of the Decoration

View of the Base

This last painted hand-thrown red earthenware vase is different in form and color than all of the other products seen in this report, but it does show a similar applied leaf decoration like some of the previous pots. It was found in a junk shop in downtown Beverly last year. The person who owns the shop told me it had sat in the shop for a while and it was originally discovered in a house a few blocks away in the downtown part of the city.