EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Recap of the 2015 Edition of 'Dish Camp' Held at Historic Eastfield Village in Nassau, New York

Monday, June 22, 2015

A Recap of the 2015 Edition of 'Dish Camp' Held at Historic Eastfield Village in Nassau, New York

The annual ceramic and utilitarian pottery conference took place this past weekend in Historic Eastfield Village in Nassau, New York. The event has been commonly dubbed 'Dish Camp' by past attendees - and, the name has stuck - so, traditionally, that is what the event is called these days. Sadly, this is the first year that the museum's founder, Don Carpentier was not in attendance - he lost his battle with ALS last summer. Don was a world-renowned scholar - according to the Historic Eastfield Foundation, "Don was a true renaissance man of his time, he was a self-taught craftsman, tinsmith, blacksmith, potter, carpenter, and mason - as well as a teacher, mentor, father, friend, husband, brother and uncle. Don's efforts to preserve historic buildings began in 1971 when he moved a blacksmith's shop into his father's 'east-field.' He eventually dismantled and reassembled more than 20 historic buildings to create Eastfield Village, which serves as a working laboratory for students attending the early American trades and Historic Preservation Workshops, the longest running historic preservation school in the country."

Historic Eastfield Village - Nassau, NY

More formally, the conference is named 'British and American Historical Ceramics "Dish Camp" Four Centuries of Ceramic Discoveries.' This year's speakers included Jacqui Pearce, Bly Straube, Samuel Herrup, Angelika Kuettner, Mara Kaktins, Rick Hamelin, Allen Miller and Jonathan Rickard.

Here's an overview of each speaker's topic:

Jacqui Pearce of Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) discussed 17th century ceramic finds from London sites in a parallel talk with Bly Straube of Jamestown Virginia (Virginia) Rediscovery, investigating the rich archaeological finds from Virginia of that period.

Samuel Herrup Massachusetts antiques dealer, covered a slip decorated red earthenware jar and cover and its connection to the potteries of eighteenth-century Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Mara Kaktins of the archaeological team at Ferry Farm, George Washington's birthplace, dealt with excavated creamware and Chinese porcelain with home-made repairs, likely by Mary Ball Washington - George's mother.

Angelika Kuettner of Colonial Williamsburg discussed her research into the significance of chrome lustre ware in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

Rick Hamelin a redware potter, recounted the lives of nineteenth-century Massachusetts country potters and demonstrated the process in his witty, fluid style.

Allen Miller, who is a curatorial consultant, revealed the ceramics associated with Hyde Hall, the lovely neoclassical country house at the head of Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, New York.

Jonathan Rickard, collector and author remembered Don Carpentier, founder and director of Eastfield Village, and his contributions to the collective knowledge of the English pottery factory system and techniques of manufacture as a twentieth-century self-taught potter and inventor.

Jonathan Rickard Speaking at Dish Camp 2015

Bly Straube Speaking at Dish Camp 2015

Mara Kaktins Speaking at Dish Camp 2015

Samuel Herrup Speaking at Dish Camp 2015

Angelika Kuettner Speaking at Dish Camp 2015

Rick Hamelin Speaking at Dish Camp 2015

Allen Miller Speaking at Dish Camp 2015

Massachusetts potter, Rick Hamelin also demonstrated the technique that many early country potters used to manufacture utilitarian pottery in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. A statement that he made clear was that every potter likely had their own technique, just like he does, but he also said that this was an intense and grueling job for many country potters in America. As part of Rick's demonstration, he reproduced the pot that Massachusetts antiques dealer, Samuel Herrup discussed, which was an important discovery at a Tim Gould auction in Augusta, Maine last fall.

Rick Hamelin Demonstrating His Technique on the Potter's Wheel

Rick Hamelin Reproduced the Pot that Samuel Herrup Discussed
The Slip Decoration was Applied by a Stamping Process that Rick also Demonstrated

Another View of the Handled Pot

View of the Lid

Two of the Other Objects that Rick Made During his Presentation

Another Pot that Rick Made During his Presentation
This Pot Imitates a Pot that Was Made in East Brookfield, MA in the 1800's

After the Saturday portion of 'Dish Camp' concluded, a group of us drove over to Timothy Bailey's antique shop in nearby Nassau, New York. The shop is commonly called, 'Antiques at Bailey's.' The shop really contains a museum-quality exhibit of stoneware made in the Albany, New York-area in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-centuries; however, there is also a wide selection of antiques, Shaker and other forms/means of pottery.

Group of People at Antiques at Bailey's in Nassau, NY

Back Row from Left to Right: Me, Samuel Herrup

Front Row from Left to Right: Jan Lloyd, Jeremy Brunaccioni, John Green
Photo Courtesy: Timothy Bailey - Nassau, NY

I was surprised to find this ovoid-shaped red earthenware rundlet in the shop. Personally, I don't know where it was made, but the form and decoration kind-of contradicts each other - the ovoid form suggests an early-nineteenth-century potter to me; however, the gold paint suggests a later nineteenth-century potter. I have very-little doubt that this rundlet is American-made, but where it was made is the big question. For instance, I know that gold paint was used by some potter's businesses from Maine to New Hampshire to Massachusetts and further south like places throughout the Mid-Atlantic states, which includes Philadelphia, but to pinpoint the rundlet to a narrower area will require some research. Regardless, it's a rare piece - and, a good find!