A 19th Century Red Earthenware Flask Discovered in Putnam, Connecticut Last Weekend

If you read any of my recent articles from last weekend - you may have noticed that I discovered a rare example of twentieth-century Canadian-made folk art in an antique store in downtown Putnam, Connecticut. The glass and red earthenware bottle was found in the basement in one of the shops, which was actually the area where most of the discounted items and lower-end objects were kept; although, I managed to pick my way through the basement to find something neat to bring home. However, that's not all that I purchased on this trip.

Among my other discoveries was a nineteenth-century brown-glazed red earthenware flask hidden in a dealer's booth surrounded by mostly nineteenth-century American-made bottles. It seems to be a mere coincidence that I have been searching for a black-glazed or a brown-glazed red earthenware flask for my collection from a Connecticut-based potter. If I could choose, I would rather own a flask that was made in the Hartford, Connecticut-area as opposed to other areas of the state, like the industry in Norwalk, Connecticut, where the potteries are known to have made the form in various sizes in the 1800's. I certainly enjoy Norwalk-made products, but I also enjoy smaller and lesser known potter's businesses, too.

Ultimately, the flask form was produced by eighteenth and nineteenth-century red earthenware and stoneware potters in the northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the south and the midwest. The forms are what often attribute certain examples to specific areas today. It wasn't a form that was made at every potter's business since glass makers were also known for the form, but there was apparently a demand for the pottery form, too that probably saw its height of production and distribution in the American marketplace happen in the 1820-1880 period. Coincidentally, this was also a very-strong period for glass flasks.

 Downtown Putnam, CT

 Downtown Putnam, CT

 Antiques Marketplace - Putnam, CT

Jeremiah's Antiques & Shoppes Putnam, CT

This is the flask that I found. Overall, it is in great condition with some minor wear around the rim. My feeling is that this flask was made in Connecticut, but the form does not exactly match the forms that are attributed to the potteries in Norwalk today. There are some variations in the neck and the lip that do not correspond with what is regularly said to be a Nowalk-made flask. I suppose there is still a chance that this object is a Norwalk-made example; although, my feeling is that this flask was made elsewhere in Connecticut before 1850. Similar examples are seen in Historic New England and Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts' utilitarian pottery collections.

I also want to mention that red earthenware flasks were popular with the potters on Long Island in the 1800's; however, the overall form of this flask does not match known products from that area, either. I really feel this flask was made at one of the small potter's businesses in Connecticut in the nineteenth-century. It's possible that it was made in the Hartford area, but I'm not sure of that.

 19th Century Brown Glazed Red Earthenware Flask Likely Made in Connecticut
Circa 1810-1840
Stands 7 1/8" Tall
Recently Found in a Shop in Putnam, CT

 Another View of the Flask

View of the Base

For what it maters, I believe Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland holds the all-time record for a red earthenware flask at auction, which saw an example sell for $23,000 (including buyer's premium) in 2013. The auction house described the flask as "an exceptional redware flask with profuse floral decoration in a three-colored slip. It was likely made in Pennsylvania or possibly Ohio in the first or early second quarter of the nineteenth-century. A similar decorated object, attributed to New Philadelphia, Ohio is pictured in Dianna and J. Garrison Stradling's book, 'The Art of the Potter (page 140).' This particular flask (below) was last purchased in 1947 for $5."

 Early 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Flask Probably Made in PA or Ohio

Circa 1800-1830

Stands 4 3/4" Tall

Sold for $23,000 in 2013

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Another View of the Flask

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

The Connecticut potter's are known today for both red earthenware and stoneware flasks. I believe this object holds the auction record for a stoneware flask, where it achieved $40,250 (including buyer's premium) in 2009. Crocker Farm described this flask as an "exceedingly rare and important stoneware flask with a profuse incised bird and a flowering urn decoration. The flask is attributed to the Webster Family in Hartford, Connecticut in the early nineteenth century."

 Early 19th Century Stoneware Flask Attributed to Hartford, CT
Attributed to the Webster Family of Potters
View of the Incised Bird Decoration
Circa 1800-1825
Stands 6 1/2" Tall
Sold for $40,250 in 2009
Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

View of the Incised Flower Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

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