An Important 18th Century Red Earthenware Cup or Porringer that Sold in Maine in 2011

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), "In 1765, a potter described as either Dutch or German arrived in Abington, Massachusetts, which is located just south of Quincy, Massachusetts. John Henry Benner (1726-1796) is said to have come directly from across the seas, but there is a possibility that he was one of the immigrants to Germantown in Quincy, as well.

In 1942, I found Benner's waste pile in Abington on the very edge of a small clay pit filled with water. The recovered sherds were for the most part similar to artifacts found at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company (circa 1764-1799) in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The one notable exception was a fragment of a bowl or a jar with slip stripings trailed horizontally (see cup or porringer from Tim Gould auction below) on the outside.

Much of Benner's ware is of a brilliant reddish orange color with splashings and dribblings of dark glaze. The pottery seems to have closed when Benner died on January 16, 1796."

Note: This type of glaze is commonly attributed to southeastern Massachusetts today, circa late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-century.

 18th Century Jug Attributed to John Henry Benner - Abington, MA

Circa 1765-1795

Stands Roughly 4 1/4" Tall
Pictured Figure 31 in 'Early New England Potter's and Their Wares'
Note: This is a Glaze Style that was Reportedly Common for Benner's Production
This Glaze Style is Also Commonly Attributed to SE Mass Today

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, MA

Another View of the Pitcher
Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, MA

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, MA

It has been about five or six-years since I visited the Dyer Memorial Library in Abington, Massachusetts to view a small collection of red earthenware, kiln furniture, sherds and a couple of kiln bricks that are related to John Henry Benner's eighteenth-century production.

Benner was also reportedly active circa 1765-1795/1796, which is a lengthy period to have produced red earthenware in the 1700's. Watkins also notes that this is a similar period for when the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company operated in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

My latest article in the New England Antiques Journal discusses Peter Clark (1743-1826), who was active in Braintree, Massachusetts, circa 1764-1775. The distance between Abington and Braintree is roughy nine-miles. Presumably, Benner and Clark knew each other before 1775; however, I have also suggested in the past that colonial Massachusetts potters, such as Benner and Clark were also well-aware of the potter's industry located throughout Charlestown, Massachusetts before 1775.

The following red earthenware jug is attributed to John Henry Benner by the Dyer Memorial Library; although, the glaze does not appear familiar for eighteenth-century potters in Massachusetts. Common knowledge today would suggest that this type of glaze would more-likely be attributed to northern New England or western New York after 1820.

Interestingly, I have handled jugs that were made by Peter Clark in the 1780's and early-nineteenth-century, which are owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Surprisingly, there is virtually no difference in the form, glaze or production.

Nevertheless, a matching glazed crock was recovered in Charlestown in an archaeological context that pre-dates 1775. Interestingly, this type of glaze does not appear anywhere else in the Charlestown Archaeology Collection, which includes dozens of boxes of ceramics recovered from various potter's businesses in Charlestown.

In theory, I have wondered if Benner could have exported red earthenware into Charlestown (or Boston) when the turmoil began between English soldiers and American patriots that culminated in the American Revolution (1775-1783). Events, such as the Intolerable Acts likely hampered the production of red earthenware in Charlestown, and I have always speculated if some potters outside of Boston may have exported their products to the Boston-area during the circa 1770-1783 period.

After the American Revolution, red earthenware is found in late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century archaeological contexts in Boston that was made in Essex County, Massachusetts. Pottery from Essex County has also been recovered in nineteenth-century contexts in Charlestown.

This jug and crock may be proof that a domestic export/import business did happen around the American Revolution with certain potters located just outside of Boston. They may have helped fill the demand for utilitarian red earthenware, which had been previously filled by the Charlestown potter's industry. However, that industry was largely affected by the turmoil that led up to the American Revolution - and, even more-so, when Charlestown was entirely burned by British soldiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775.

I have also shown an eighteenth-century cup or porringer that Maine auctioneer, Tim Gould sold in Augusta, Maine in 2011, which retained a history of ownership in southern New England. The glaze pattern on this porringer is very-similar to the glaze-pattern that is found on the jug that is attributed to John Henry Benner, where a combination of a dark-reddish and cream-colored-glaze was used.

I should also note that this cup or porringer has subtle traces of slip-decoration, which has also been applied in a style that was produced in Charlestown (see below) before the American Revolution.

I believe the style of slip on this cup or porringer is similar to what Lura Woodside Watkins says she recovered on a slip-decorated bowl or jar at the site of Benner's trash pile in Abington in 1942. I am curious to know if this style of slip-decoration can tie Benner to Charlestown, whether it be by influence or the fact that he was located nearby and he may have seen some of the Charlestown pottery before 1775.

Note: The name, John Henry Benner is not widely known today, but I assume his business was similar to Daniel Bayley's (1729-1792) company in Newburyport, Massachusetts, which operated circa 1764-1799. Archaeological evidence has proven that Daniel Bayley's company was exporting red earthenware to Salem, Massachusetts, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Portland, Maine, and even colonial military forts in Maine and Canada.

 18th Century Jug

 18th Century Jug Attributed to John Henry Benner - Abington, MA

Circa 1765-1795

Stands Roughly 9" Tall
Note: The Glaze Style Matches the Style Found on the Cup Below

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, MA

 View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, MA

View of the Handle and the Rim

Photo Courtesy: Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, MA

18th Century Crock

18th Century Red Earthenware Crock Recovered in Charlestown, Mass. 

Glaze Matches the Glaze on the Jug Shown Above, Which is Attributed to John Henry Benner

Made Before 1775

Stands Approximately 10" Tall

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

18th Century Cup or Porringer

18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Cup or Porringer with Multiple Glaze Colors

Glaze Style Seems Related to a Jug that is Owned by the Dyer Memorial Library - Abington, MA

The Dyer Memorial Library's Jug is Attributed to John Henry Benner - Abington, MA

Circa 1765-1795

Stands 1 7/8" Tall

Measures 3 1/4" Rim-to-Rim

Photo Courtesy: Tim Gould - Maine

Another View of the Cup or Porringer

Photo Courtesy: Tim Gould - Maine

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Tim Gould - Maine

A Comparison of Slip-Decorations

The Subtle Slip-Decoration is Similar to Styles Applied in Charlestown, MA Before 1775

See Lura Woodside Watkins Description About Benner's Slip Above

Photo Courtesy: Tim Gould - Maine

   18th Century Red Earthenware  Porringenr Recovered in Charlestown, Mass.

Made Before 1775

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

18th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Recovered in Charlestown, Mass.

Made Before 1775

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

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