A Red Earthenware Plate Modeled After an English White Salt Glazed Form Found in an Old Massachusetts Estate About 30 Years Ago

Over the weekend, I posted pictures of this fascinating eighteenth century red earthenware plate to my Instagram account; the plate is adorned in a pinkish glaze, while the exterior edge is carefully decorated with slip. The plate was a part of a collection of early ceramics that was just acquired by the circa 1716 Warner House Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, although, this particular piece in now in the private collection of Portsmouth antiques dealer Hollis Brodrick.

However, what makes this piece so interesting is the fact that it is modeled after eighteenth century English white salt glazed stoneware plates that were shipped all over the world, including the American colonies before the American Revolution. I can only speak for myself when I say that I have never seen anything like this particular plate before. 

A nearly identical English stoneware example was recovered from a mid-eighteenth century archaeological context at the site of the Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown, Massachusetts (see below). Perhaps some research will reveal who was copying these stoneware plates with red earthenware seeing that the refinement and color of this object is remarkable.

The complete history of this red earthenware plate is currently unknown, but it was discovered about thirty years ago inside an old Massachusetts estate.

Interestingly, a potter by the name of Paul Flanders manufactured a set of ten Rococo-style shaped English salt glazed stoneware plates made of red earthenware at the Clark Pottery in Concord, New Hampshire in 1843. There are also some examples that are unglazed that are believed to be related to this production, as well. Some of these plates are now owned by Historic New England in the Nina Fletcher Little Collection at Cogswell Grant in Essex, Massachusetts. But I do not believe there is any relationship between that production and this incredible plate; although, I thought it was noteworthy to mention that this type of production was also copied by American potters.

A Red Earthenware Plate Modeled After an English Salt Glazed Form

My Niece Alexis Holding the Red Earthenware Plate

The Plate is Modeled After an English White Salt Glazed Example

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18th Century Red Earthenware Plate Modeled After an English Salt Glazed Example

Discovered About Thirty Years Ago Inside an Old Massachusetts Estate

See Below for an English White Salt Glazed Example Recovered in Charlestown, Mass.

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View of the Exposed Red Earthenware Clay

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View of the Back of the Plate

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(Left) 18th Century English White Salt Glazed Stoneware Plate

Recovered from a Mid-18th Century Context in Charlestown, Mass.

The Plate Above is Modeled After this Type of Production

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

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