A Group of 19th Century Red Earthenware Objects that Were All Possibly Made in Vermont Before 1840

I have owned the following pair of early-nineteenth-century red earthenware pots for a few years - I bought them because they looked like they were rare skillfully made objects from New England, circa 1810-1840. I have also written about them in the past, where I had suggested a possible attribution; although, I was never completely sure of where these pots were definitely made despite what I had suggested for a description.

I purchased the colorful pot shown to the left in an antique shop in New Hampshire in 2014; however, the black-glazed pot (shown to the right) has a long history of ownership in Vermont, which I purchased at a Crocker Farm auction in Maryland in March of 2013.

The black-glazed pot was consigned as part of a lifelong collection of red earthenware assembled by a Vermont collector in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's. The collection included products made in Maine, New Hampshire, northeastern Massachusetts, Vermont, western New York and Ontario. It is my guess that the collector probably traveled throughout eastern upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire in search of these objects.

Recently, it dawned on me that the handles found on both of these jars match the type of handles that are found on jars made in the Middlebury, Vermont-area, circa 1810-1835. The handles match in form, and also how the handles were attached to the jar with two thumb impressions.

Truthfully, I have previously seen a similar form, like my jars, that was attributed to Vermont by a longtime Cape Cod, Massachusetts collector, but I was never sure how that attribution was developed.

The Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society owns an example that matches my black-glazed pot in form and glaze, but it is also dressed with a beaded decoration similar to the Middlebury-made jar that is shown below from the Art Institute of Chicago in Illinois. Unfortunately, the museum does not provide an attribution or any provenance for their jar; however, the historical society does own other Vermont-made products in its red earthenware collection that could be related.

 (Left) 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot that Appears to Have Been Made in Vermont

Found in a Shop in New Hampshire in 2014

Circa 1810-1840

Stands 7 3/4" Tall

(Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot that Appears to Have Been Made in Vermont

Purchased from a Longtime Vermont Collection in 2013

Circa 1810-1840

Stands 7 1/2" Tall

 Another View of the Jars

 View of Handle Attachments

See Handles in Other Objects Below

View of the Handles and Thumb Prints

See Handles in Other Objects Below

Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Vermont

Made by Edwin William Farrar in Middlebury, VT

Stamped 'E.W. FARRAR'

Circa 1830

Stands 9 3/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: The Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago, IL

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Vermont

Attributed to Edwin William Farrar in Middlebury, VT

Circa 1830

Stands 9 3/4" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Colonial Williamsburg - Williamsburg, VA

View of a Handle

This Handle is Very Similar the Handles Shown on the Pair of Pots Above

Photo Courtesy: Colonial Williamsburg - Williamsburg, VA

Mint Museum, North Carolina

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Vermont

Attributed to Edwin William Farrar in Middlebury, VT

Circa 1830

Stands 8 5/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Mint Museum - Charlotte, NC

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