19th Century Grecian Style Pottery From Beverly, Mass. Found in Storage in Brunswick, Maine

I will post better pictures in the next week or so, but this is another Grecian-style object that I have been able to identify from Charles A. Lawrence's (1829-1906) pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts. The hand-painted decoration is similar to a marked jug found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

According to the MET, "Greek Painted Vases, an article that appeared in the American Art Amateur in 1882 - a time when the vogue for these reproductions was beginning to wane - quotes Christopher Dresser's (1834-1904) remarks on the lesson to be learned from ancient models: "Whatever ornament is placed around a cup, or vase...should be such as will not suffer in perspective, for their is scarcely any portion of the ornament that can be seen otherwise that foreshortened. Let simplicity be the ruling principle in the decoration of all rounded objects."

Design characteristics adopted from Greek pottery, among which flat, stylized decoration with a minimum of modeling or shaping was especially prized, resulted in the simplified designs that helped to characterize aesthetic pottery. 

Facsimiles of Greek terracotta vessels were some of the earliest artistic ceramics produced in America. The first known reference to an "art ware" line appeared in 1872, when "the Beverly Pottery" at the request of Boston ladies began to copy beautiful forms of ancient vases to order." Charles A. Lawrence, the superintendent of that Massachusetts factory, intentionally limited the production of imitation Greek pottery, for he feared that if it became common it would depreciate in value. He therefore sold it only in small lots to his "artistic" friends for their own private collections."

This piece was just discovered in storage along mid-coast Maine, when a few antique dealers cleaned out a closed antique dealer's shop in Brunswick, Maine. Interestingly, I know the exact shop that this object was discovered - in fact, I have driven by this shop many times, but it was never open. I always wondered what was inside, and can vividly remember seeing the windows on the front of the building filled with all types of decorative art glass.

Beverly, Mass. Grecian-Style Pottery

19th Century Grecian Style Jug with Hand-Painted Decoration

Attributed to the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

Circa 1872-1900

Stands 2 3/8" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Jakey Jakes Used Furniture & Collectibles

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