Two Unexpected Red Earthenware Lions on Display at the Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut

A few weeks ago, I began to write about the Pitkin Collection at the Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut. According to the museum, "A native and lifelong resident of Hartford, Albert Hastings Pitkin (1852-1917) was among the first to systematically study and collect early American pottery. While visiting a local farmhouse in the spring of 1884, his discovery of two pieces of redware, or lead glazed earthenware pottery, spurred his passion for ceramics. Pitkin soon amassed a collection and became known as the leading authority on New England earthenware. In 1910 he joined the staff at the Wadsworth Antheneum as curator of the department of ceramics. During his tenure, he oversaw the installation of his own collections in the Morgan Memorial, and upon his death, his wife, Sarah Howard Loomis Pitkin, donated over three hundred objects to the museum."

The following figures were included with the Pitkin donation to the Wadsworth Antheneum, although this is a type of nineteenth century production that is apparently hardly recognized from Connecticut today. "These red earthenware lions offer a fascinating comparison of press-molding and free-hand sculpture. John Sanders sculpted the alert lion (left) from a block of clay, where excess clay was cut away to create the figure. The sleeping lion (right) was formed in a mold in which clay was pressed. The alert lion bears a roughness and unevenness indicative of potter's tools, while the sleeping lion has much softer modeling and evenness in its texture, hinting at the uniformity of mold impressions."

Interestingly, these lions could also likely easily be mistaken for production in Pennsylvania from the same period, seeing that these type of red earthenware figures were much more commonly produced within that industry. To my knowledge, whimsical objects or wares lacking a utilitarian purpose are quite rare to find from any eighteenth or early-to-mid nineteenth century potter in New England today. But it should also be noted that this type of production was popular with potters in England, as well.


Red Earthenware Lions on Display at the Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art

(Left) 19th Century Red Earthenware Lion

Reportedly Made by John Sanders in Connecticut

Circa 1817

(Right) 19th Century Molded Red Earthenware Lion

Reportedly Probably Made in Connecticut

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Photo Courtesy: Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art

Closer Look at the Molded Lion Possibly Made in Connecticut

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Photo Courtesy: Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art

Mark on the Molded Lion

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Photo Courtesy: Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art

Information Displayed with the Lions

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Photo Courtesy: Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art

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