An 18th Century Red Earthenware Pot Discovered in Newburyport, Massachusetts in the 1930's

Pictured in figure 32b of Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares' is a rare eighteenth-century Massachusetts-made red earthenware object. Presumably, this could be an Essex County, Massachusets product, which Watkins describes as a "mustard pot decorated with variegated green, yellow and brown tones in the glaze, and brushed with slip-decoration." She also said, "It was possibly made in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area, and it stands only 3 1/2 inches tall."

There were multiple eighteenth-century red earthenware potter's businesses employed in Newburyport, Massachusetts before the American Revolution; however, I assume the reason that Watkins suggested Newburyport as a possible place of manufacture is a result of discovering the pot in a Newburyport home in the 1930's.

I think it is difficult to say "which" eighteenth-century potter's business is responsible for this wonderful pot; although, the decoration is similar to slip-patterns that were also applied in Charlestown, Massachusetts before 1775.

For the sake of today's discussion - I would like to compare the slip-technique and glaze-colors found on this small pot to a pair of objects that were recovered through archaeology in Charlestown in the 1980's. I also want to compare this object to a larger pot that sold at a Tim Gould Auction in Augusta, Maine in 2014 - that larger pot was attributed to the Charlestown potter's industry during the circa 1740-1775 period, based on the archaeological evidence, that was recovered more than thirty-years ago in Charlestown.

I also want to mention that there seems to be the possibility that this object's overall form, and the lid may have been inspired from eighteenth-century English slipware products that were imported into the American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries.

 18th Century Massachusetts-Made Red Earthenware Pot

Discovered in Newburyport, Mass. in the 1930's

Attributed to the 18th Century Newburyport, Mass. Potter's Industry

Although the Slip-Technique is Comparable to Styles Also Applied in Charlestown, Mass.

Circa 1740-1790

Stands 3 1/2" Tall

Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

Pictured in Figured 32b in 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares'

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, Mass.

(Left) Pot Attributed to Charlestown, Mass which Sold in Maine in 2014

Circa 1740-1775

(Right) Chamber Pot Recovered in Charlestown, Mass. in the 1980's

 Circa 1730-1775

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

(Left) Pot Attributed to Charlestown, Mass which Sold in Maine in 2014

Circa 1740-1775

(Right) Porringer Recovered in Charlestown, Mass. in the 1980's

 Circa 1730-1775

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

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