Recently Discovered Nathaniel Seymour Pottery Slip-Decorated Jar from West Hartford, Connecticut

As I promised, here are better picture of the late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth century lead glazed red earthenware jar with slip-decoration, which I discovered a few weeks ago inside a consignment shop in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Both sides are decorated with the same amount of slip.

This jar is attributed to Nathaniel Seymour's (1763-1849) pottery in West Hartford, Connecticut, a form and style of slip-decoration that are desired today, among collectors and museums. I also believe the lid to be original.

According to an article written by Vincent DiCicco for the winter 2002/03 issue of American Folk Art Museum in New York City, "Not a single signed piece of Nathaniel Seymour's red earthenware has been documented. Without a signed example available to us, the foundation for all Seymour attributions is based on a single well-documented example, which employs the signature glaze (like that seen below). This extraordinary object, a large ovoid pitcher, part of the collection of the Wadsworth Antheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, was acquired directly from a descendant of Nathaniel Seymour's, Major Seymour, grandson of the potter.

Albert Hastings Pitkin (1852-1917), an early collector, scholar, and former curator of the Wadsworth Antheneum, met with Major Seymour and interviewed him in the Seymour ancestral home. Along with the pitcher, Major Seymour provided information about the pottery, stating that it produced a variety of domestic wares until about 1825. He said the kiln diameter was approximately ten feet, and firing lasted anywhere from 24 to 36 hours. The cooling of the kiln took about the same amount of time. Generally, four potters turned out earthenware in such quantity that the kiln was fired approximately every seven days."

Nathaniel Seymour Pottery Slip-Decorated Jar

 Late-18th or Early-19th Century Lead Glazed Red Earthenware Jar with Slip-Decoration

Attributed to the Nathaniel Seymour Pottery in West Hartford, CT

Circa 1795-1820

Stands 8 1/2" Tall

See Article for More Information

View of the Lid

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Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...