A Comparison of Red Earthenware and Stoneware Flasks from Ontario and Pennsylvania

A nineteenth century red earthenware flask is another one of  the objects that piqued my interest in the John Wine Collection that sold last weekend at Miller & Miller Auctions in New Hamburg, Ontario. The glaze was certainly attractive, but I was especially intrigued by the form of the flask, especially in consideration of the influence found in this region with migrant Pennsylvanians and Germans in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century.

While the shape of the rim is not exact, this nineteenth century stoneware flask that I posted, which was reportedly made in Pennsylvania is very similar to the red earthenware example attributed to Ontario. Unfortunately, I do not know the whereabouts of this stoneware flask today, although the illustration was taken from the Index of American Design in the National Art Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. The flask was made as a Christmas present; it is decorated on one side with a bird and a floral arrangement, while the reverse side is inscribed, "John Morse to Arthur W. Smith December 25 1867."

Interestingly, the form of the red earthenware flask is vastly different than many those made in America, which typically demonstrate a more elongated body and a different style of rim. The shape of the rim found on this flask is also similar to that used on some American and Canadian stoneware jugs and related forms from the same period. It is also a rim style used on a variety of red earthenware jugs manufactured in Ontario in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century.

A Comparison of Ontario and Pennsylvania Flask Forms

19th Century Stoneware Flask Reportedly Made in Pennsylvania
Inscribed "John Morse to Arthur W. Smith December 25 1867"
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Photo Courtesy: Index of American Design at the National Art  Gallery

19th Century Red Earthenware Flask Attributed to Ontario

Form is Similar to Some Stoneware Flasks Made in America

Stands 5 1/4" Tall

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 Photo Courtesy: Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd.

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