EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Rare Whimsical Red Earthenware Figure Made in New Hampshire in the Nineteenth-Century and Related Objects

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

A Rare Whimsical Red Earthenware Figure Made in New Hampshire in the Nineteenth-Century and Related Objects

I have been researching a hand-thrown black glazed red earthenware vase recently that was found in Keene, New Hampshire. It appears to me at least that it is a well-executed product made in the late-nineteenth-century at either an art potter's business - or at a utilitarian red earthenware potter's business that may have manufactured floral products to cater to the public's needs. I feel it probably dates from the early-1870's to the early-twentieth-century. I plan to eventually write about this piece if I can ever figure it out, but very-few art potters are known to have made products with a red-colored body in New England. I also firmly believe that it was made in New England - so, you can probably understand my confusion at the moment.

Yesterday, I turned to the collection of pottery kept at the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord, New Hampshire in hopes that I may find a clue or a potential lead as to where this vase may have been made. I was curious to see if there was anything in their collection that it may resemble in form or style. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything that provided much help; however, I was rather surprised to see a dark brown glazed red earthenware figure of a dog attributed to a New Hampshire business in the 1800's. I will admit - I am envious of the various whimsical figures made by potters (even traveling potters) in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the second-half of the nineteenth-century. It's a desired product-style that I wish was produced regularly in New England. From what I can see - a lot of New England's potter's industry kept with its daily regiment of utilitarian wares and it is rather uncommon to find unusual forms with no real household purpose today. Whimsical pieces of great skill and high-levels of production made in Pennsylvania and Virginia are highly sought after today by collectors, dealers and museums alike. I, for one, wish this kind of production extended further north with New England's early potters before 1900. Its just not a style that I am aware of ever having been executed in this part of the county until I came across this piece in Concord yesterday to go along with a few other known examples.

Here are two pages of listings from the important William Kelly Young Collection that Crocker Farm sold in Sparks, Maryland in 2010; shown is a huge selection of whimsical red earthenware figures made in the Mid-Atlantic region in the 1800's.

William Kelly Young Collection Page 1
William Kelly Young Collection Page 2

The dog in the New Hampshire Historical Society is only the third example I know of today where a whimsical figure was made in New England. My thought process here suggests that where one figure was produced - there must have been others. I don't believe this could have been a unique product, but one never knows. The only other instances that I know of are a red earthenware cat and a beaver attributed to John Henry Benner (active ca. 1765-1795) in the eighteenth-century in Old Braintree, (now Abington) Massachusetts. These examples are kept in the local historical society.

18th Century Hand-Modeled Cat Attributed to John Henry Benner - Braintree, Mass.

Ca. 1765-1795

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, Mass.

Back of the Cat

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, Mass.

Bottom of the Cat

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, Mass.

18th Century Hand-Modeled Beaver Attributed to John Henry Benner - Braintree, Mass.

Ca. 1765-1795

The Beaver is Pictured on a Piece of Felt

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, Mass.

According to the New Hampshire Historical Society: the figure was made at the Clark Pottery in the Millville section of Concord (Milleville Pottery: Ca. 1863-1885). The potters Daniel Clark and John Farmer Clark both ran this business - so, it is assumed (by the museum) that the figure was made by one of them; although, I will suggest that this business is also known today for employing traveling potters and apprentices. The figure was donated to the museum as part of the important Margaret H. Jewell Collection a number of years ago. It was reportedly originally purchased from the granddaughter of John Farmer Clark, which leads me to believe that it is also possible that he may have made it special for her. The dog appears like it may have been molded to me, which is why I suggest that more of these may have been made at this business. The figure is covered entirely in a dark brown glaze. The bottom has been left unglazed.

19th Century Red Earthenware Dog Attributed to the Clark Pottery in Millville/Concord, NH

Ca. 1863-1865

The Dog Appears Like it May Have Been Made in a Mold

Stands 2 5/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: The New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

While picking my way through a local Massachusetts flea market last summer - I came across the following molded elephant that appears like a product made from sewer tile. It also appears like it has been decorated with a clear glaze and almost undoubtedly made from a mold.

From what I have read, "sewer tile products were made at the sewer tile factories in America in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-centuries. Figures and vases were usually the favorites and they were often cast in molds. The finished piece was often taken from the original pipe with added decorations and markings." These kinds of products were predominantly popular with the factory workers in the Ohio-area (and often, so, attributed today); however, I tend to believe such products were made all-over America - and also at English factories, but, there was no real reason to export such objects because they were mostly made for whimsical and sentimental purposes. Its not a subject I have ever studied or have I ever read about - but I couldn't imagine there being much commerce involved with such objects.

As a rule, I typically ask people where something was found when I am interested in it; in this case, the dealer told me the elephant had been in his basement in Maine for a number of years. He said prior to that - he couldn't remember where he exactly found it, but he thought it may have been found during a house clean out, also in Maine.

The Portland Sewer Pipe Company in Maine was considered a leader in the region's production of sewer tile. For example, Charles A. Lawrence's business (ca. 1866-1906) in Beverly, Massachusetts advertised the sale of Portland Sewer Pipe in the late-1800's that it likely contracted to sell on a wholesale-to-retail per-basis for consumers in Essex County, Massachusetts. I have seen whimsical pieces today where factory workers from the Portland business turned actual sewer pipe connecting pieces into umbrella stands usually with colorful painted scenes on the front of them. This elephant would normally be attributed to the midwest or maybe even Pennsylvania in the late-nineteenth-century when exotic animals became fashionable in America. However, considering any type of knowledge of such production in Portland, Maine today would be extremely limited - I wonder if this elephant could be tied to that business' after-hours or lunch-break production. Could it be a similar case to the dog shown above that was made in New Hampshire, but without that family connection the dog would probably be attributed to another potter somewhere else today? I known it is difficult to say that since an object was found in a certain context that it must be from a local maker; however, could this elephant found in Maine be an exception? My knowledge of sewer tile objects like this is limited - and thus why I am asking the question. I have not been able to find this form or similar figures made from a similar kind of mold in any auction results in the last ten-years. Therefore, could it be among the small number of whimsical pottery figures that were produced in New England in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries? Possibly, but it's a fun piece regardless.