EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Found on Valentine's Day in Salem, Massachusetts in 2014

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Found on Valentine's Day in Salem, Massachusetts in 2014

For some reason, I have had good luck in recent years when searching for pottery on Valentine's Day in Essex County, Massachusetts. My all-time favorite Valentine's Day discovery is a wonderful four-handled pot from the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery (circa 1866-1906) in Beverly, Massachusetts - this pot is decorated with a hand-applied pie-crust decoration just below the rim and a number of stamped Roman Crosses, which were applied all over the pot's exterior, as-well-as at the top and base of each handle terminal.

Previously, I have written about Lawrence's fascination with reproducing actual ancient Roman Pottery that began in the early-1870's - according to a book published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, 'In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement,' "Facsimiles of Greek terra-cotta vessels were some of the earliest artistic ceramics produced in America. The first known reference to an 'artware line' appeared in 1872, when the 'Beverly Pottery at the request of Boston ladies began to copy beautiful forms of ancient vases to order.' Charles A. Lawrence, the superintendent of that Massachusetts factory, intentionally limited his production of imitation Greek pottery, for he feared that if it became common it would depreciate in value. He therefore sold it only in small lots to his 'artistic' friends for their own private collections."

It was three-years ago today that I found the pot that I just described inside a small shop in Salem, Massachusetts - the shop's owner told me that the pot's consignor was actually trying to sell a bunch of silk orchids that they had placed in the pot for Valentine's Day. However, I was only interested in the pot; although, I still own the orchids today.

The owner told me that the pot was recently found in an early house in Beverly. I also found it intriguing to see where small traces of a clear lead glaze had accidentally spilled onto the exterior. A matching glaze is found on a similar (formed) stamped pot, which is owned by the Beverly Historical Society.

The Beverly Historical Society's pot is an important object that Charles A. Lawrence personally made as a presentation piece for John I. Baker, who was Beverly's first mayor in 1895. Lawrence first incised three lines onto this object so that his stamped inscription would be level with rest of the pot: Lawrence stamped, "PRESENTED TO THE / FIRST MAYOR OF BEVERLY / FROM THE BEVERLY POTTERY / JAN 1895,.'

The exterior and interior of the pot has been left unglazed, which is similar to the pot that I found in Salem on Valentine's Day in 2014. However, Lawrence glazed each letter on the pot that the Beverly Historical Society owns - the glaze likely preserved the stamps, but it also makes each letter easier to read.

Note: I have also posted a circa 1890 photograph of the C.A. Lawrence Pottery on the Bass River in Beverly, Massachusetts, along with two images taken from an 1880 map of Beverly, which also show the C.A. Lawrence Pottery.

Circa 1890 Photograph of C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.