18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds Recovered in Northwestern New Jersey

Last week, I wrote about a circa 1793 sgraffito red earthenware plate made by Phillip Durell in Elizabethtown, New Jersey that is owned today by the Newwark Museum in New Jersey. Some of Durell's production may have been intended for the New York City market since his business was located only a few miles to the west of the city. But the sgraffito plate would have likely been attributed to eastern Pennsylvania had it not been for the inscription, "Manufacture by / Phillip Durell / October 27th 1793."

To my knowledge, this plate is the only example of eighteenth or nineteenth century sgraffito known from New Jersey today. Although, I'm also curious to learn if any of the lesser decorated examples of sgraffito kept in museum collections or private collections, and attributed to Pennsylvania, could be reexamined and possibly linked to Durell's production in New Jersey.

Nevertheless, the following eighteenth century slip-decorated red earthenware sherds were recovered by archaeologists in 2016 in Greenwich Township in northwestern New Jersey.

According to the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, "A recent excavation for archaeological data recovery was conducted for a bridge replacement over Pohatcong Creek in Greenwich Township. It yielded some fascinating findings.

The site is the original location of the eighteenth century Severns Tavern, and later Kennedy House, built circa 1764 and demolished in 1915. The property was a favorable location for a tavern, which could serve travelers journeying between Easton, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg, New Jersey, at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers."

It is known today that eighteenth century red earthenware potters in Philadelphia exported production by way of the Delaware River to communities along coastal Delaware, such as a remarkable early-to-mid eighteenth century slip-decorated red earthenware dish, which was recently recovered by archaeologists at the site of the seventeenth and eighteenth century New Sweden Settlement in Delaware. Interestingly, a nearly exact eighteenth century dish was also recovered by archaeologists in the twentieth century in Philadelphia.

However, the distance to northwestern New Jersey is much further and somewhat indirect, and it may appear unlikely, but the location that these sherds were recovered is also accessible from Philadelphia by way of the Delaware River.

These artifacts may represent the export system that the potters in Philadelphia are known for today; although, perhaps a New Jersey attribution may also be studied in consideration of the type of production that Phillip Durell (and possibly others) is known for today in northern New Jersey in the 1700s.

Note: I have posted the remains of an eighteenth century utilitarian red earthenware crock that was also discovered by archaeologists at the Severns/Kennedy Site in Greenwich Township, New Jersey. This type of production is very difficult to attribute outside of a context that can directly tied to a potter's business; whereas, this crock was also likely made in New Jersey or Pennsylvania.

Red Earthenware Recovered in Greenwich Township, NJ

18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Severns/Kennedy Site in Greenwich Township, NJ

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Jersey Historic Preservation Office

18th Century Red Earthenware Crock

Recovered at the Severns/Kennedy Site in Greenwich Township, NJ

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Jersey Historic Preservation Office

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