Slip-Script Dishes Derived from Christian Faith Manufactured in Norwalk, Connecticut

As I wrote earlier today, I recently visited one of the storage facilities at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, Connecticut, in order to view the museum's collection of red earthenware and stoneware. A focus of the museum's collection is clearly the wares made at the eighteenth and nineteenth century industry in Norwalk, Connecticut, a coastal city located about 50 miles northeast of Manhattan.

In fact, two of the Norwalk objects that I viewed, are among a group of slip-script dishes known to exist today, related to religious symbolism and iconography.

Both of these objects were also published in an article written by Richard Miller for the 2016 issue of Ceramics in America, entitled Norwalk (Connecticut) Slip-script Pottery, the Potters, and Related Ware. According to Miller, "Customers at the Asa Edward Smith (1798-1880) Pottery (ca. 1825-1887) could order dishes inscribed with the names of saints who served as models for a Christian life. The number of extant examples is large, with those inscribed "St. Francis Xavier" and "St. Remigius" typifying most. 

Among the favorites were martyred saints, two of whom had died or whose remains were rediscovered about the time Connecticut was settled: "St. Fidelas Martyr" commemorates the man who died at the hands of Calvanists in 1622 and "St. Martina Virgin and Mayrter" died in 226; her site was discovered in 1634.  By preserving the names of individuals who gave their lives for their faith, the dishes can be seen as an extension of the Methodist Church's ministry in Norwalk."

Slip-Script Dishes of Christian Faith from Norwalk, CT

 19th Century Red Earthenware Dish Attributed to the Smith Pottery in Norwalk, CT

Inscribed in Slip-Script "St. Francis Xavier"

Circa 1825-1850

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Connecticut Historical Society

19th Century Red Earthenware Dish Attributed to the Smith Pottery in Norwalk, CT
Inscribed in Slip-Script "St. Remigius"
Circa 1825-1850
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Connecticut Historical Society

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