A Pair of 19th Century Red Earthenware Jugs Possibly Discovered in an Early Context of Ownership in Maine

Last fall, I purchased a misplaced eighteenth-century drawer full of pottery from Scarborough, Maine antiques dealer, Rachel Gurley. The drawer contained four examples of nineteenth-century Maine-made red earthenware, along with a nineteenth-century Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware jug. The group of objects came directly out of an eighteenth-century home in Saco, Maine. The collection was found tucked away in the attic. These objects are believed to have lived in this home for well-over a century - they seem to have been recovered in an early-context of ownership. All of the red earthenware appears to have been produced at the nearby Bickford Pottery in Buxton, Maine before 1860 - and, the Charlestown stoneware jug was found about ninety-five-miles north of where it was originally manufactured during the circa 1800-1840 period.

Nonetheless, I picked a pair of nineteenth-century red earthenware jugs last weekend at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Massachusetts for twenty-dollars. It does not bother me, but both of the jugs are missing their handles. One of the jugs has a rope tied around its neck, which shows how it was used in Maine in the 1800's even after the handle broke.

I was told the jugs were recently removed from a barn in Northport, Maine, which is a town located on the Penobscot, Bay in Waldo County, Maine. Northport is also located more-than one-hundred-miles north of Saco, Maine.  The context that these jugs were discovered may be a mere coincidence; however, the context may also represent the types of red earthenware that was available to homeowners in the Penobscot Bay Region in the nineteenth-century. In theory, this is a possible concept since Northport is a maritime community, where documented eighteenth and nineteenth-century New England-made antiques have been recovered in the past.

The dealer told me that both of the jugs were filthy when her husband discovered them; however, she said her husband cleaned both of them to reveal two wonderful glazes hidden beneath decades worth of dirt and filth. There is nothing I can do about it now, but I would have probably left these jugs covered in some of the original dirt so the context that they were discovered would still be somewhat represented. Luckily, the known history of these jugs was passed along (to me), and I am hopeful that this known history will not be lost as-long-as these jugs continue to survive today.

Here is a (link) to the article that I wrote on October 4, 2015 about the red earthenware and stoneware that was discovered in Saco, Maine.

(Left) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Likely Made in Maine

Form Matches a Style that I Have Seen Attributed to Buxton, ME

Found in a Barn in Northport, ME

Circa 1820-1860

Stands 8 5/8" Tall

(Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Likely Made in Maine

Possibly Also Made in Southern Maine

Found in a Barn in Northport, ME

Circa 1820-1860

 Stands 9 1/4" Tall

 Another View of the Jug

Purchased Last Weekend at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Mass.

 Another View of the Jugs

View of the Green Glaze

View of the Handle Attachments

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