A Wonderful 19th Century Red Earthenware Pan that Appears to Imitate a Known Rockingham-Glazed Form

Briefly, I would like to show this red earthenware pan that is owned by Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware. The museum attributes it to Canada during the 1790-1830 period, which is an early era for locally produced utilitarian pottery in Canada. According to Winterthur, "The pan is possibly made in Canada due to similarity in other forms and decoration from that country."

Visually, this object appears to imitate known Rockingham-glazed earthenware pans made in America and Canada in the 1800's; however, the Rockingham-glazed products were typically produced after 1830. Generally, this Rockingham form would date around the mid-nineteenth-century.

I have seen red earthenware pans in this form decorated in a very-similar glaze discovered in Maine by New England collectors and dealers; although, those products are frequently attributed to southern Maine today. There are also very-few known to exist. The few examples that I am familiar with today are privately owned.

Confirmation of a southern Maine attribution may be difficult to prove since there is no documented history of this exact form associated with any of Maine's nineteenth-century potter's businesses. Archaeological evidence could solidify that attribution, but I do not believe it exists (yet). The attribution that I have heard is that related objects are suggested to have been made by Thomas Truxton Kendrick in Hollis, Maine before 1860.

Nonetheless, the idea of a Canadian attribution also fascinates me - it should be no surprise that Canadian-made objects are regularly discovered in Maine today. However, it is also difficult to say whether this is a Canadian-made product without more proof.

Personally, I believe there is some evidence (similar glazes found in southern Maine), which suggest this is a Maine-made product, but it would be helpful to hear from any Canadian pottery experts, who would agree or disagree that this is a product made Canada. The only location that I could foresee this pan made in Canada is with the Pennsylvania-German potters, who migrated to Ontario in the nineteenth-century.

Below I have shown the red earthenware pan - and, I have also shown a similar formed Rockingham-glazed pan that was either made in America or Canada. Visually, you should be able to see the comparison in form, glaze and size.

Red Earthenware Pan

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pan

Attributed to Both Maine and Canada Today

Form and Decoration Appears to Imitate Rockingham-Glazed Pans from the Mid-19th Century

Winterthur Suggests Circa 1790-1830 Production Period

Stands 3" Tall

Measure 9 5/8" in Diameter

Photo Courtesy: Winterthur - Wilmington, DE

View of the Unglazed Base

Photo Courtesy: Winterthur - Wilmington, DE

Rockingham-Glazed Pan

 19th Century Rockingham-Glazed Earthenware Pan

Made in Either America or Canada

Circa 1850

Stands 2 7/8" Tall

Measures 10" in Diameter

Photo Courtesy: eBay - Link to eBay Listing

View of the Interior

 Photo Courtesy: eBay - Link to eBay Listing

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: eBay - Link to eBay Listing

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