EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A 19th Century Slip-Decorated Jar that May be Related to a Jar that I Recently had Restored

Thursday, November 2, 2017

A 19th Century Slip-Decorated Jar that May be Related to a Jar that I Recently had Restored

Last weekend, I posted an article about an incredible nineteenth century red earthenware jar that had just been professionally restored, which was heavily decorated with detailed incised birds, flowers, branches, stems, etc.; whereas, many of those lines were filled in afterwards with thick slip-decoration.

I had suggested that this was a reverse form of sgraffito, a desired style of decoration manufactured in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where it was "created by cutting or scratching away parts of a surface layer (such as of plaster or clay) to expose a different colored ground or bottom layer. This is a traditional style of decoration found on Pennsylvania-Dutch pottery. The first known use of the word in America reportedly happened circa 1720-1730 (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary)."

I had also written last weekend that the skillfully restored jar may have been made in Massachusetts, but I had no proof of such an attribution. But I also knew about an object that is currently in the inventory of Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer, Greg Kramer, which closely resembles the form of the jar that I just had restored. Both jars are also decorated with an incised line below the rim that was later filled in with slip, which suggests to me that there may be a connection. It is also worth noting that both jars have also been decorated with tulips.

I have been told that the jar in Greg's inventory may have been manufactured in central or western New York in the 1800s; although, I have no further proof of that attribution, either; although, this was an area that utilized the use of slip in the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, I thought this would be an interesting visual comparison to post this morning since the form of these objects may be related.

However, I have also realized that there is somewhat of a similar formed jar with some obvious differences that was acquired in 1979 by the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. This jar is also decorated in slip with flowers and an inscription, which includes the state of manufacture, "New York."

Note: I posted links in the article, but here is the link, again to the story, which discussed the restoration of the wonderful jar that I wrote about last weekend.

Slip-Decorated Jar Owned in Pennsylvania