Remains of a Plate Recovered in New York City Compared to an Intact Example that Just Sold at Auction

A small collection of red earthenware sold yesterday in California on eBay, where the majority of the pottery was made in Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century. Although, this particular earthenware plate caught my attention because its appearance and manufacture is very similar to the the remains of a plate that I published last year in 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."

The plate was recovered from a nineteenth century privy in New York City by Maribelle Costes and Scott Jordan, and was likely manufactured at the Huntington Pottery on Long Island in the early-nineteenth century. Matching sherds have also been recovered at the site of the pottery, and a matching plate is owned by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (now Preservation Long Island).

However, there is a major different found in the manufacture of both of these objects - the plate that sold on eBay is made from earthenware with a white clay body, while the other objects are made from earthenware with a red clay body. But despite this difference, it is certainly intriguing to see how similar these plates appear from the form, to the glaze color, and the coggled edges.

Similar Slip-Decorated Plates

19th Century Slip-Decorated Earthenware Plate

Form and Decoration is Very Similar to Artifacts Recovered in New York City and Long Island

Measures 7 3/4" in Diameter

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Photo Courtesy: eBay Seller pco2000

Early-19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Plate

Recovered from a New York City Privy

Matching Sherds Have Been Found on Long Island Including the Site of the Huntington Pottery

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Photo Courtesy: Maribelle Costes and Scott Jordan

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come