A Great Green Glazed Jug Acquired Yesterday in Brimfield, Massachusetts

This is another one of my purchases this week at the antique shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts, which was recently acquired directly from a house in Connecticut by Sheffield, Massachusetts antiques dealer, Sam Herrup. It was found along with a late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth century lead glazed red earthenware stew pot from the William Pecker pottery in Merrimacport, Massachusetts.

This jug stands almost 12-inches tall and is decorated in a beautiful green glaze with orange halos and some faint use of manganese for decoration. Although, when I initially saw this jug on Tuesday, I could remember seeing a nearly exact handle, however I could not remember where I had seen it.

But I realized last night that the handle and base on this jug seem to match a pitcher illustrated in my most recent feature story published in the May 2019 issue of Maine Antique Digest, titled The Bradford Family Potteries in Massachusetts. This story identifies the significance of the Bradfords and their impact within the pottery industry in southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. However, it wasn't identified until recently by a grad student from the University of Massachusetts Boston that this was a four-generation family business, which began before the American Revolution and continued into the 1870s.

Comparison of Handles and Finger Impression

Comparison of the Handles

The Manufacture of Each Handle and Finger Mark Appears to Match

Also Notice the Similarities in Glaze and the Orange Halos in Each Object

See Article for More Information

The pitcher that I reference was illustrated among a group of other pitchers, all of which can be linked to archaeological evidence collected by Massachusetts author Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wars), and owned today by the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. All of this information was discussed in the MAD article, but I also suggested that a lot more pottery was made by the Bradfords than what may be realized today. I also noted that Watkins found extensive archaeological evidence to prove that various green glazes were produced at the Bradford family pottery in Kingston, Massachusetts.

Nevertheless, upon comparing the jug to that pitcher last night, I found that the handles and finger impressions on each object appear to match, both objects show orange halos in the glaze (which may have been a reaction that happened in the kiln), both objects exhibit the use of some manganese for decoration, the glazes are also similar and the manufacture of the bases appear to be very similar.

Red Earthenware Jug and Pitcher

My Niece Alexis Holding the Large Lead Glazed Red Earthenware Jug

See Article for More Information

Early-19th Century Lead Glazed Red Earthenware Jug

Possibly Made at the Bradford Family Pottery in Kingston, Mass.

Recently Found in a House in Connecticut

Stands 11 1/8" Tall

See Article for More Information

Another View of the Jug

See Article for More Information

View of the Handle

See Article for More Information

View of the Base

See Article for More Information

Another View of the Handle

See Article for More Information

 Early-19th Century Lead Glazed Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to the Bradford Family Pottery in Kingston, Mass
Attribution Based on Archaeological Evidence
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Private Massachusetts Collection

 View of the Handle

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private Massachusetts Collection

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