EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Plate Found in Upstate New York

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

A 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Plate Found in Upstate New York

No matter the region - signed or stamped eighteenth or nineteenth-century American-made red earthenware from a specific potter or potter's business is very-rare today. Signed examples are often expensive, too. However, there are occasions where some pieces sometimes slip through the cracks. There are also instances where damage can significantly lower the value of a signed piece - none-the-less, a signed object or a stamped piece is significant to me. It's an object that can absolutely be tied to a specific potter's business - today, many attributions are well-educated guesses; however, a signed piece is solid proof of where a specific object was made (or, who made it) that can help contribute to a proper attribution with another object based on that signed piece.

This past Sunday, I was in upstate New York near the state capital in Albany, New York - and, on my trip home to Massachusetts - I decided to stop at Timothy Bailey's famous antique shop, 'Antiques at Bailey's' in Nassau, New York. During my visit, I had a nice conversation with Timothy in respect to his wonderful 'Top Shelf' stoneware collection that mostly hails from the Albany-area in the early-nineteenth-century.

Afterwards, I decided to check out the shop - in the upstairs or second-floor area of the shop, I found a badly chipped nineteenth-century multi-slip decorated press-molded red earthenware dish that was stamped on the back, 'W. SMITH / WOMELSDORF.' This was the mark for Willoughby Smith, a potter, who was employed in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania (about 78 miles northwest of Philadelphia) during the second-half of the 1800's. He is known today for stamping a number of objects with his name that range from plates, platters and food molds.

What I thought was special about this dish (besides the stamp) was the green slip, which is a color that Smith doesn't appear to have applied as much as other colors of slip - at least, that's what I have found through various auction results for Smith's work at places like Crocker Farm, Christie's and a number of Pennsylvania auction houses. Prices have varied for attributed pieces of Smith's work that commonly reach into the hundreds of dollars - while, stamped objects often achieve higher prices, which have stretched into the thousands of dollars. Ultimately, Smith is a desired potter today by collectors and antique dealers.

This is the dish that I purchased - it is well-worn and well-used; however, the stamp is still legible on the base - and, only a small percentage of the slip has burned off. For now, this object will serve as a study piece (for me) - and, it will also act as an example of this potter's work, which will now be represented in my personal collection.