EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Rare Red Earthenware Object that was Discovered in a Shop in New Hampshire Last Weekend

Monday, June 6, 2016

A Rare Red Earthenware Object that was Discovered in a Shop in New Hampshire Last Weekend

Last weekend, I left my house in Newburyport, Massachusetts - and, I traveled north, with optimism, and hopes that I would be able to pick a small number of shops that I frequently visit every few months in central New Hampshire. It is a route that I have done well with in the past; however, I have also gone for lengthy spells, where I have not found anything in these shops, as well.

It is a similar direction to the cities and towns that I drove to a few weeks ago in New Hampshire, where I discovered a southeastern Massachusetts red earthenware jar and a red earthenware bowl that was likely made in Newburyport, Massachusetts. I did not take the exact same route, but it was a similar direction that does eventually lead to the lakes region in New Hampshire.

I wrote about one of last weekend's discoveries a few days ago, which was a rare nineteenth-century red earthenware jar likely made in North Yarmouth, Maine, circa 1820-1860. However, I also found the following whimsical red earthenware object in another shop.

Initially, I was not sure if this was an object made by Jerry Beaumont, a red earthenware and stoneware potter, who is currently employed in Maryland; although, he used to work in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and York, Maine.

The reason I thought it may have been made by Jerry is the result of a faint mark on the base that appears like it could be a cross. Coincidentally, a cross also happens to be Jerry Beaumont's mark. Although, it also appeared (to me) that this mark may have been scratched in after the object left the potter's kiln, either by accident or intentionally.

When I got home, I checked with Jerry Beaumont, and he told me that this is not something he made when he worked in Portsmouth or York in the 1970's and the 1980's.

As-a-result, I now believe, that the scratching, seen on the base, may represent, the letter 'H' - and, it may also represent a previous owner.

Nevertheless, I purchased this object with the feeling that it was made in Pennsylvania in the late-nineteenth-century. This object is a molded red earthenware figure of a boy or a young man with a hat - and, I also assume that this object was made as a whimsical child's toy, circa 1850-1890.

A similar pair of molded objects sold in lot number 60 in Kelly Young's sale at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in January of 2010 - Kelly Young (1933-2009) was a prominent collector of red earthenware and stoneware from Fort Worth, Texas.

Mr. Young shared a great interest with utilitarian pottery produced in every major American potter's region in the 1800's. His collection was undoubtedly a landmark sale when it sold in 2010.

The objects that sold in lot number 60 were described by Crocker Farm as "...probably Pennsylvania in origin from the mid-to-late nineteenth-century. The molded figure of a woman is decorated with a bonnet and a broom - and, the man is decorated with a hat, broom and apron. Both figures are decorated with manganese slip highlights, copper slip at the base and covered in a lead glaze."

The lot was purchased by Giamer Antiques and Collectibles (see photos below) from Skippack, Pennsylvania, and the red earthenware man is currently for sale through their online store.

According to Giamer Antiques, "This (man) was probably a child's toy, and it is a wonder he has survived. We have been collecting redware for a long time, and we have never seen anything like this before."

Note: The photography used by Crocker Farm and Giamer Antiques and Collectibles shows how the red earthenware man appears in contrasting areas of lighting. I assume there is a chance that all three of these objects could be related.

Found in New Hampshire