Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Pan Sherds Recovered in Ipswich, Massachusetts and Boston

According to the Trustees of Reservations in Boston, "In 1996, A major archaeological dig took place at the Paine House at Greenwood Farm in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where archaeologists uncovered nearly 700 redware pottery sherds, many in the form of milk pans, butter pots and mugs. The thought is that these artifacts were likely locally made in Essex County, Massachusetts.

The reservation takes its name from Thomas S. Greenwood who built the nineteenth century white farmhouse. To its rear, the circa 1694 Paine House, a yellow cladboard saltbox, and a remarkable example of first period (1627-1725) architecture. Three generations of the Paine family made their home here, including Robert Paine, foreman of the Salem, Massachusetts witch trial in 1692. 

From 1916, Greenwood Farm was a summer retreat for the Robert G. Dodge family, who used the Paine House as a guesthouse. Furnished with a fine collection of American furniture and decorative arts, it radiates with Colonial Revival ambiance. 

Recent archaeological surveys have even revealed a rare survival of an eighteenth century milk room or dairy inside the house."

The red earthenware industry in Essex County, Massachusetts was a subject of a feature story that I wrote, which was published in the November 2017 issue of the New England Antiques Journal. I had written in that article that the use of slip decoration in this industry was a subject that deserved a lot more attention today, especially with the potteries that operated in the Peabody, Massachusetts-area in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Nevertheless, many of the artifacts recovered at the Paine House in Ipswich, Massachusetts were adorned in slip, including the milk pan sherds illustrated in the photograph that I posted, which was taken in 1996. Granted these objects were locally made, I could also easily see this type of production mistaken for wares manufactured from the Mid-Atlantic region.

Interestingly, the remains of a very-similar slip-decorated pan were recovered from an archaeological context at the site of the African-American Meeting House in Boston. I suspect that this pan may be related to the slip-decorated pans that were recovered in Ipswich. It is also noteworthy to mention that the remains of Essex County red earthenware have been recovered throughout the Boston-area within post-1775 and nineteenth century contexts, such as Boston Common, the Paul Revere House and locations in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Note: Artifacts recovered at the African-American Meeting House in Boston are also a subject in a feature story about the potter's industry in southeastern Massachusetts that I wrote for Maine Antique Digest, which will be available later this month when the June 2018 issue is released.

Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Pan Sherds Recovered in Ipswish, Mass.

18th/19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Pan Sherds

Recovered at the Site of the Paine House on Greenwood Farm in Ipswich, Mass.

The Style of the Slip on These Sherds Closely Resemble the Pan Shown Below

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Trustees of Reservations

Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Pan Sherds Recovered in Boston

18th/19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Pan Sherds

Recovered at the Site of the African-American Meeting House in Boston

The Style of the Slip on this Pan Closely Resemble the Sherds Shown Above

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department

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