The Chelsea Keramic Art Works was an art pottery and utilitarian earthenware company that operated in Chelsea, Massachusetts from 1872-1889. The Robertson family, who were a skilled group of male potters, managed the business, with the mindset that their wares could cater to some of the local decorative needs. A variety of exceptionally skilled earthenware products were produced in dozens of fancy forms in the 1870's and the 1880's. Although, there were also painted red earthenware products in ancient-styles with forms drawn from actual Grecian designs that fulfilled some of the local Grecian revival demands in the Boston-area - and, possibly elsewhere in the formal New England community. Conclusively, there were dozens-and-dozens of hand-thrown forms produced by the Robertson family - furthermore, there are still occasionally new forms being identified today.
Virtually all of the examples of artwork created under the Chelsea Keramic Art Works name are prized today with some museums taking a special interest in representing this company's work in their collections. For example, museums like the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts all house a selection of Chelsea Keramic examples in their inventory.
The most prolific potter from the Robertson family fame was likely Hugh Robertson, who was known for his glaze accomplishments that won him awards after he visited the World's Fair in Philadelphia in 1876. He really took inspiration from the glazes that he was introduced to at the World's Fair that adorned products made by the Chinese potters. Hugh Robertson is probably most known today for his achievements after 1889, when he established the Chelsea Pottery - and, soon-after, the Dedham Pottery in Dedham, Massachusetts; however, his accomplishments at the Chelsea Keramic Art Works are equal to any other potter employed during the Arts & Crafts Movement in New England after 1870.
Virtually all of the examples of artwork created under the Chelsea Keramic Art Works name are prized today with some museums taking a special interest in representing this company's work in their collections. For example, museums like the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts all house a selection of Chelsea Keramic examples in their inventory.
The most prolific potter from the Robertson family fame was likely Hugh Robertson, who was known for his glaze accomplishments that won him awards after he visited the World's Fair in Philadelphia in 1876. He really took inspiration from the glazes that he was introduced to at the World's Fair that adorned products made by the Chinese potters. Hugh Robertson is probably most known today for his achievements after 1889, when he established the Chelsea Pottery - and, soon-after, the Dedham Pottery in Dedham, Massachusetts; however, his accomplishments at the Chelsea Keramic Art Works are equal to any other potter employed during the Arts & Crafts Movement in New England after 1870.
Last week, I visited, a large, four-floor vintage-type shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts called the 'Cambridge Antique Market.' Personally, I had never found anything in this shop before, but I keep going back because I never know when an object of significance may show up. A South Shore Massachusetts antiques dealer has told me a story about a rare eighteenth-century red earthenware jar that showed up in this shop a few years ago that some believe was a product made by Peter Clark in Braintree, Massachusetts before the American Revolution. I guess it's due to that specific story that I keep going back - I'm hopeful that I may stumble across my own Peter Clark jar on one of the multi-dealer shop's four floors. Admittedly, I don't go to this shop very-often; although, I would estimate that I probably stop there every four-to-six months - so, I would say I visit the shop a few times a year. It's not too far out of the way from my day-job in Newton, Massachusetts, but I sometimes make that detour, like I did last week, on my way home from work.
Cambridge Antique Market - Cambridge, MA
Cambridge Antique Market - Cambridge, MA
Cambridge Antique Market - Cambridge, MA
You may have already guessed by the way I began this story that I discovered an object made at the Chelsea Keramic Art Works last week at the Cambridge Antique Market. The form is a rare umbrella stand that was probably made during the 1870's or the 1880's period. What I find really great about this umbrella stand versus other stands made during the Arts & Crafts Movement in the nineteenth-and-twentieth-centuries - is that this stand is hand-thrown. There are many American-made umbrella stands from this period that are found in today's marketplace that are molded, but that's not the case with this example. The paint on the stand is also original. The sun flower is really what immediately drew my eye to this object.
The stand was likely made during the same period as the painted Grecian objects that I described above in the 1870's. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston owns a few examples of those type of ancient-style products; although, it should be noted that this stand was done in a similar manner (paint and type of clay), but it should not be mistaken for any kind of Old World-style output at the Chelsea company. It was probably merely made alongside those kind of products.
19th Century Hand-Thrown Red Earthenware Painted Umbrella Stand
Made at the Chelsea Keramic Art Works in Chelsea, MA
The Paint is Original to the Umbrella Stand
Circa 1870's or 1880's
Stands 28" Tall
Purchased Last Week at the Cambridge Antiques Market in Cambridge, MA
I was Told it was Recently Found Locally in the Cambridge, MA Area
View of the Original Hand-Painted Sunflower
View of the Interior
I also found it very interesting that this umbrella stand was discovered roughly six-miles from where it was originally produced without a proper description. All the accompanying tag read was "pottery stand." I asked the shop if they knew where it came from - they told me they didn't know exactly where the dealer found it, but they felt it was found locally.
It's rare today that a nineteenth-century urban-produced object is still located so close to its original place of manufacture - this is a situation or a scenario, that I feel, would more likely be played out in a rural setting in places like Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine.
Map Showing the Distance Between Chelsea, MA and Cambridge, MA
The Distance is Roughly Six-Miles
Photo Courtesy: Mapquest
For what it matters, I didn't really have a need for the umbrella stand, but I certainly liked it a lot, especially the paint; as-a-result, I couldn't leave it behind due to the bargain price, either. I figured that since my father is originally from Chelsea that it would fit perfectly in my parent's house. It now sits alongside a nineteenth-century Portland, Maine-made painted sewer tile umbrella stand that I found for my mother in central Maine last summer. Ironically, she's originally from Portland.
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
No comments:
Post a Comment