EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Cow Just Discovered in Southern Maine

Monday, May 7, 2018

A Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Cow Just Discovered in Southern Maine

I have previously written about two red earthenware animal figures that I acquired in Maine in the last two years; the first was a slip-decorated cow that I purchased from Nan Gurley's collection in Parsonfield, Maine in September 2016. I then found a slip-decorated lamb in October 2017 inside an antique shop in southern Maine that was likely from the same manufacturer.

These objects don't appear to have served a household function. The only purpose that I can see is for a whimsical decoration or possibly even a child's toy.

After I wrote about these objects, I learned about two additional related objects owned privately in Pennsylvania and Ontario. Although, I had speculated that these well-made objects could have been manufactured in Canada in the late-nineteenth or early-twentieth century, based on the color of the glaze, the color of the slip and the color of the clay. These characteristics are commonly found on red earthenware manufactured in eastern Canada, especially Nova Scotia during the same period.

Nonetheless, I revisited the antique shop in southern Maine this past weekend, where I had discovered the lamb last fall, and I was surprised to see a slip-decorated red earthenware cow, likely from the same manufacturer, sitting on a wooden shelf in the back of the same dealer's crowded space. My guess is that I either missed the cow last fall or it was brought into the shop once the lamb sold. Either way, both objects probably retain some type of history together in Maine.

Note: I may be wrong, but seeing that I know about five related pieces today, and the fact that three retain histories of ownership in Maine (and another in Ontario), likely better supports my theory that these objects may have been manufactured in Canada. I have also searched through a number of museum collections, as well as auction results and I have not been able to find any other related pieces.

Collection of Red Earthenware Animal Figures