Today, I would like to discuss an object from this collection of pottery that appears (to me) to be a possible eighteenth-century example of red earthenware made by the potter, William Pecker (active 1790-1820) in Merrimacport (formerly West Amesbury), Massachusetts. What intrigues me most about the following jug is that this form is not commonly attributed to the Pecker Pottery today. Normally, the handle is attached directly to the lip. In-fact, nearly every example that I know of today from museum collections to private collections, which hold an example of the kind of jugs that were produced in Merrimacport, typically reveal a handle that was attached at the lip. None-the-less, there are a few examples that puzzle me today because they demonstrate a handle that loops back around and attaches at the body. This is also the same characteristic that I have found that Pecker practiced with the few stoneware jugs that I know of today that are marked, 'WM PECKER.' Does this mean that the limited stoneware that Pecker produced was accomplished in the late-eighteenth-century rather than the early-nineteenth-century? Honestly, it is too narrow of a period to accurately determine - I honestly can't (currently) prove either way.
Typically, I would assume that Pecker merely had multiple styles in terms of how he attached a handle to any-given object; however, I am also curious to know if this was an eighteenth-century technique that was employed by Pecker (or, maybe another potter at Pecker's business) - but, his style may have also changed in the nineteenth-century. I also understand that potters can not be seen as machines today - they were artisans. No two objects from any given potter are exactly the same. Glazes varied and so didn't the hand-thrown forms - so, to say that a potter only did something a certain way is a statement that I would be hesitant to say today.
In consideration, of all this information - and, seeing that so-few examples of this kind of jug have survived today - I do wonder, if this was an eighteenth-century form that was used in Merrimacport after 1790. My reason for this idea is because of a red earthenware jug attributed to Pecker that was part of the Hilary and Paulette Nolan Collection that sold through Northeast Auctions in Manchester, New Hampshire in 2004. The jug was handless in that collection, but it has since been restored with a new handle. The new handle was made in the manner of how the old handle was attached - and, it curls back around to attach at the body. The jug is now part of a prominent collection in Pennsylvania. Written in slip, across the front of the jug, it reads, '1797.' Ultimately, this jug is my reasoning of why this may have been an eighteenth-century form produced by Pecker in Merrimacport that may have faded away with the objects he made in the nineteenth-century before 1820.
The reason I am bringing this up is because potters, who lasted in the 1800's were forced to alter their businesses with the trends of society and the industry; however, wares often appeared similar in the 1790-1820 period that Pecker worked. Curiously, I wonder why the form may have changed?
Historic New England suggests that the Beauport jug was made in Maine in the 1820-1840 period; however, I would like to believe otherwise. Shown below is the jug from the Nolan Collection and the jug owned by Historic New England in Gloucester.
(Second from Left) William Pecker Pottery Attributed Red Earthenware Jug - Merrimacport, MA
Dated in Slip '1797'
Ex-Collection of Hilary and Paulette Nolan - Falmouth, MA
Photo Courtesy: Northeast Auctions - Portsmouth, NH
(Left) Possibly William Pecker Pottery Red Earthenware Jug Made in Merrimacport, MA
This is the Most Common Glaze Pattern Found on Pecker Pottery Objects Today
Stands 10 1/8" Tall
Possibly Circa 1790-1799
Photo Courtesy: Historic New England, Beauport - Gloucester, Ma
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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