A Comparison of Glazes from Various Potteries in New England, New York and Pennsylvania

We had a friendly conversation yesterday in an antique pottery group on Facebook about glazes and whether or not they can be used to attribute a specific piece of red earthenware to a certain pottery. I am certainly guilty of doing this when I began studying red earthenware more than a decade ago; however, I have learned that it is all about the form. It's also typically not just about one characteristic in the form; it's about the overall form. For instance, a handle is not always good enough with red earthenware to make a specific attribution; the handles in Essex County, Massachusetts and coastal New Hampshire are all very similar. This idea also likely holds true for other areas of production elsewhere in the country.

I wanted to show this picture in order to demonstrate why making an attribution on just a glaze is risky. This picture shows 11 pieces of red earthenware that date from the late-eighteenth century to the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, which exhibit similar glaze colors. These wares represent production from various potteries in Essex County, Bristol County, Massachusetts, West Hartford, Connecticut, Norwalk Connecticut, Long Island and Pennsylvania.

I have also learned that I should not say that a certain pottery, area or region never produced a certain style or color of glaze. Time-and-time again, archaeology and studying the remains of potter's sites has proven that surviving objects only represent a small percentage of what was actually produced. I have been surprised more times than I can remember by studying this information.

But it should also be noted that the type of glaze I have shown below was also manufactured in New Jersey, southwest Virginia/northeast Tennessee and likely other areas, as well. There are many other glaze colors that are just as diverse; there is even a connection with certain colorful glazes that span production from Maine, Vermont, Western New York and Ontario. There are also styles that were produced in Europe, as well as America and Canada. There is even the spotted green glaze way too often attributed to Gonic, New Hampshire and Galena, Illinois, which is a style of glaze that was produced all over America, Canada and elsewhere in the world.

American Red Earthenware with Similar Glaze Colors

Production from Various Potters from Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts

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