EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: The 2015 Connecticut Spring Antiques Show in Hartford - and My Day Picking in Putnam, Connecticut

Saturday, March 21, 2015

The 2015 Connecticut Spring Antiques Show in Hartford - and My Day Picking in Putnam, Connecticut

"For the past 42 years the Connecticut Spring Antiques Show has been the premier for those interested in quality early American furniture and decorative arts. The show, which has long attracted serious buyers, is a great venue for novice collectors and visitors interested in learning about outstanding merchandise. Most of the dealers have been exhibiting at the show for years and they are always willing to impart their expertise and passion for Americana. The show's exhibiting dealers are among the most distinguished and well-known in the industry."

If you haven't guessed, yet, the Connecticut Spring Antiques Show held at the Armory in Hartford, Connecticut kicked off its premier annual two-day event earlier today. I arrived at the show only moments after the doors opened at 10:00 am. The naturally lit (huge skylights) room was filled with all sorts of wonderful antiques that ranged from formal art, furniture, folk art, maritime, American imports, textiles, stoneware, and, of course, my favorite, redware. In all, there were 62 dealers setup from around the country exhibiting in fine room settings. This is among my favorite shows each year because of the overall ambience that is seen in the magnificent room; the building is a wonderful granite structure built in 1909, the natural lighting from the skylights high above provides the perfect amount of light, the dealers are all spread out and there are wide aisles that allow for plenty of room for crowds of people, who attend, so, they do not feel overwhelmed with tight spaces. This is really one of the best shows in New England each year! It's just a fun, friendly and positive experience.

The 2015 Connecticut Spring Antiques Show Brochure

Unfortunately, I didn't purchase anything at the show today despite dealers like Samuel Herrup (Massachusetts), John Chaski (Delaware), Greg Kramer (Pennsylvania) and Stephen Douglas (Vermont) offering museum quality examples of red earthenware, which overall, focused on form, maker and glaze from the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. There were also dealers like Lewis Scranton (Connecticut), Mad River Antiques (Connecticut), David Good (Ohio) and Axtell Antiques (New York) that brought along marvelous examples of American-made nineteenth-century stoneware. Portsmouth, New Hampshire dealer, Hollis Broderick even brought a pair of beautiful Westerwald, German stoneware jugs from the eighteenth-century (before 1770). Ipswich, Massachusetts dealer, John Fiske even had pottery from the Medieval Period for sale. If you came to buy today or tomorrow, there's a lot of possibilities to choose from.

A good friend of mine, Chris Garvin, who is a photojournalist in Boston, suggested that I check out some of the shops in Putnam, Connecticut earlier this week. I'm not sure if he had seen the shops in the downtown area because he lives a few minutes away in Oxford, Massachusetts or if its because he drove through Putnam recently covering a story for work; regardless, I took his advice today and I made plans to check out the area on my way home from Hartford.

Antique Shop in Downtown Putnam, CT

I came across this early hand-thrown red earthenware tankard in the first shop I visited in Putnam - it was advertised as having been made by the eighteenth and nineteenth-century Goshen, Connecticut potter, Hervey Brooks (1779-1873). Brooks is an important potter by today's standards that places like Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. have taken a special interest with his work. Each museum happens to own multiple examples made at the Brooks Pottery in the 1800's. I didn't buy this piece even though it is a wonderful example and really a rare survivor today. You can see the asking price on the tag in the picture below - if you have an interest, I suggest calling the shop (860-928-0442) or, even driving there to handle it in-person. If it helps, it was in a glass case on the first floor.

Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Tankard Reportedly Made by Hervey Brooks - Goshen, CT
Ca. 1800-1840

Estimated 7-8" Tall

No Condition Issues that I Could See

Photo Courtesy: Antiques Marketplace - Putnam, CT

This is what I found while picking my way through Putnam this afternoon; to start, this black-glazed red earthenware jug was found in another shop in a glass case that was filled with all sorts of antique military memorabilia such as bayonets and musket balls. It appears early to me. It seems like the logical explanation for the exaggerated handle may have been needed to pour the contents that it kept. The jug may have even sat at the dinner table. The cork is really interesting - it has a wire attached to it, which allows for easy removal. Most corks seen on jugs today were added to safely secure the contexts inside the jug for a longer period of storage. Those corks or stoppers often were tightly packed inside the jug. This cork fits perfectly for easy on-and-off access, which suggests to me that it may have been used on a more frequent basis than would have a jug with a cork that was tightly packed.

When you first see this jug, the most recognizable feature that probably jumps out at you is the very unusual form. I don't know if there is any relationship; although, I have included a picture of a similar formed black-glazed jug that is kept in the New Hampshire Historical Society's collection in Concord, New Hampshire, which is attributed to Elijah Lowell, who worked/owned the Lowell Pottery in Orange in the 1800's. The Lowell Pottery descended through three generations of Lowell family members, which began with Isaac Lowell (1797-1866), followed by Elijah Lowell (1823-1873) and later, George Lowell (b. 1856). It's possible that this jug may be related to this business (family) considering the form is very unusual today. This may even be a unique form to the Lowell Pottery much like the unusual unique forms I discussed at the Norcross Pottery in Farmington, Maine on this website last weekend.

18th/19th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Jug Possibly Made in New England

Very Unusual Form

Very Unusual Exaggerated Handle

Stands 4 3/8" Tall

Found Today in Putnam, CT

View of the Handle

View of the Base and the the Cork

The Jug May Have Been Used for Pouring at the Dinner Table

View of the Cork

Another View of the Cork

19th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to Orange, NH

Reportedly Made by Elijiah Lowell

Dated, 1869

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

I also found this finely potted hand-thrown painted red earthenware vase, which I believe is a nineteenth-century product made in America; however, I don't know exactly where it was made. The paint is spectacular. I actually believe the paint is original to the vase. The interior of the vase is painted black. When I was handling the vase in the shop - I really marveled at how well-made and accomplished this vase really was; I think it is a wonderful survivor.

Coincidentally, the auction house, Wooten & Wooten in South Carolina is selling a pair of vases on Saturday April 11th that could be categorized with this vase. I don't believe it is the same potter; however, there are similarities behind the idea and purpose of both of these forms. I really feel this is the kind of material that is owed more research today, which is what I view as the utilitarian red earthenware industry adapting to the market's demands, trends and overall fashion needs after 1850. Potters were still potters and utilitarian potters sought out work producing what the market demanded even if it was not the typical production of household-type wares that we are accustomed from utilitarian red earthenware potters today. I believe this vase is an example of the change that happened in the American red earthenware industry in the mid-to-late-nineteenth-century.