EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A 19th Century Ancient Formed Red Earthenware Jug Recently Discovered in a House in Springvale, Maine

Sunday, January 14, 2018

A 19th Century Ancient Formed Red Earthenware Jug Recently Discovered in a House in Springvale, Maine

The reproduction of ancient Grecian-style pottery in America is a subject that I am completely fascinated with today, especially with those potters, who pursued such an enterprise after 1870 in New England. I have actually written a feature story about this exact subject, which focuses on the first potter in America to manufacture this style of art ware, the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts during the circa 1872-1906 period. The story should be published in the New England Antiques Journal sometime in 2018.

I was surprised yesterday while walking around the Boston Design and Antique Show at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, Massachusetts to see what appeared to be an example of the type of production, which I just described tucked away in a dealer's booth from Maine.

I quickly realized once I handled the hand-painted jug that it closely resembled some of the ancient-style products from Beverly that I already own. However, the paint has a shine to it, which I do not know if this was a characteristic later used in Beverly in the late-nineteenth century. I believe all of the objects that I have seen from this type of production in Beverly thus far date from the 1870s. This is a type of production that has never really been researched in depth and new information is constantly presenting itself. But the paint, manufacture and style found on this object closely resemble the production that I am familiar with from the C.A. Lawrence Pottery.

The dealer told me that he recently discovered this object inside an old house on Maine Street in Springvale, Maine; whereas, this would be the fifth example of Grecian-style pottery from Beverly that has come out of Maine in recent years.

I showed this jug to a longtime collector and scholar from Gloucester, Massachusetts yesterday, who was setup at the show. He was excited to see this object since he said he had never handled an example before.

I also want to note that I have found 14 different nineteenth century advertisements from Lawrence's Pottery that specifically advertised this type of production. I do not believe these ads have ever been cited since they were published in any type of publication or scholarship. Images and the whereabouts of these ads will be included in the feature story that should be released later this year.

Note: I have also included images of some of the advertisements owned by Historic New England, where specific companies are promoting this type of ancient production. Interestingly, Historic New England owns an ad from Norwalk, Connecticut; whereas, I have never seen this type of production associated with that industry before.

Grecian-Style Jug Recently Found in Maine