Marbled Red Earthenware Platters in the Collection of Winterthur in Delaware

While recently touring the red earthenware and stoneware collection at Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, I viewed two great examples of late-eighteenth or nineteenth century marbled red earthenware. To my knowledge, the exact potter's business (or businesses) has not been identified for this brand of production; although, it has been debated over the years that this may have been a style produced in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Western New York or maybe even Pennsylvania.

But it should also be noted that marbled wares were not exclusive to any single region - it's the combination of the form and colors used on these objects, which has been a topic of interest for decades.

However, I was rather surprised to learn a few years ago that this style of production has also been recovered within two separate archaeological contexts on Long Island in New York. I have written about both plates, one of which was recovered on Shelter Island, which is located on the eastern end of Long Island, and the other was discovered inside an old foundation hole in the 1970s in central Long Island.

Understandably, the shape of the plates found on Long Island are different than the platters seen here from the collection of Winterthur, even though the choose of colors are quite similar. Whether the plates were made on Long Island is unproven; but on the other hand the discovery of these plates is certainly intriguing, seeing that the marbled plate found on Shelter Island is not far from a previously undocumented nineteenth century pottery in Greenport, New York, which I recently wrote about on this website.

This style of marbled platter is rather rare to find; for instance, there are only so many examples known in museum and private collections. In spite of that, Winterthur's platters are unquestionably among the best known to exist today, a style of production that is also among my favorite produced anywhere in America.

Note: For more information about the marbled plates recovered on Long Island - I suggest a feature story I wrote for the October 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest, titled, The Red Earthenware Available in the 18th and 19th Centuries in New York City.

Marbled Red Earthenware Platters in the Collection of Winterthur

Late-18th or 19th Century American Marbled Red Earthenware Platter

Measures 13 5/8" Long

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

Another View of the Marbled Platter

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

Late-18th or 19th Century American Marbled Red Earthenware Platter

Measures 14 5/8" Long

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

Another View of the Marbled Platter

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

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