An Interesting Sculpture Discovered Today in a Shop in Haverhill, Massachusetts

This afternoon, after I had wrapped up my day at work, I stopped off in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on my way home, to pick some of the shops, that I have had luck at in the past. Surprisingly, I found this sculpture that I believe could be made from sewer tile. The clay is very-similar to some of the sewer tile sherds that I have collected in my area. I'm not even really completely sure what it is, but everything is hand-made and hand-sculpted. I believe it may belong to part of a terrarium, which became fashionable in the Victorian Era; however, I guess it could also serve as a castle in a fish tank (even though it's not glazed), but maybe it's a yard ornament, too. At this point, all are possibilities.

It's also been suggested that this could be religious. Someone else suggested this may have been a child's toy.

The woman, who owned the antique shop, told me she found it in a basement in the area. I said to her, "What can you tell me about it?" She told me she knew very-little about it; although, she said she was drawn to it because of how unique it appeared to her. I agreed with here - I told her, "I have never seen anything like it before."

The sculpture has four lids that are removable - there may have been a fifth lid, which is now lost. One of the lids reminds me of a few unglazed red earthenware lids that I have seen that are intended to act as plugs for bottles. That lid is seen below - and, it is made in a similar way as the plugs that I just described, which are also seen below.

For now, this report is basically just a show and tell. I hope to learn more information about this object that I can share at a later time. My eleven-year-old nephew, Jason, is shown in the first photo for a size comparison.

 My 11-Year-Old Nephew, Jason Next to the Sculpture

Possibly Made from Sewer Tile

Stands 11 1/2" Tall at the Highest Point

Base Measures 12" by 12"

Recently Found in a House in the Haverhill, MA Area

Purchased Today in a Low-End Shop in Haverhill, MA

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Sculpture with the Lids Removed

 View of the Sculpture with the Lids Removed

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Sculpture

 View of the Base

 View of One of the Covers

Cover Reminds Me of Some Redware Plugs Made for Bottles

View of the Base on One of the Covers

A Comparison of Covers

The covers shown to the left and the right in the photos below are the covers that I reference above, which were used for bottles in the nineteenth-century. These particular examples were found in the Ipswich River in Essex County, Massachusetts. I obtained them from a friend of mine, Dr. Mark Chaplin. The cover in the middle is from the object I discovered today. In form, I can see a comparison between these three objects.

 A Comparison of Covers

A Comparison of Covers

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...