I have always been curious to learn where the attribution was established for some of the red earthenware pig bottles that are attributed to the Henne Pottery in Hartlesville, Berks County, Pennsylvania, circa 1830-1860. It was certainly a prolific form made by some of the red earthenware and stoneware potters in America in the 1800s, such as the well-known examples that were produced in the latter part of the nineteenth century by the Kirkpatrick Brothers in Anna, Illinois, whereas there was also a very good example from Virginia that was displayed in the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum's exhibit a few years ago in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, titled, Thrown, Fired & Glazed: The Redware Tradition From Pennsylvania and Beyond. That example was also published in a cover story I wrote with the same title for the July 31, 2020 issue of Antiques And the Arts Weekly.
However, there may also be some examples that are attributed to the Henne Pottery tucked away in small museum and historical society collections in Berks County and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Although, the only museum example that I know about with this attribution is owned by the American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan, which was gifted to the museum by noted New York collector Ralph Esmerian.
Furthermore, a smaller sized red earthenware pig bottle that shares some characteristics with the examples attributed to the Hennes sold earlier this month at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates in Mount Crawford, Virginia. The reason that I am brining this up is because some of the characteristics about this pig, such as the stamped circular marks on the belly and the way the surface texture was created is also similar to some of the red earthenware animal figurals made in Pennsylvania after 1850. Maybe this is some "food for thought," but is there documentation that provides more information about the Henne Pottery attribution and how it was originally established? Or is this attribution based on the pig that is owned by the American Folk Art Museum? I would very much like to learn more about it, seeing that this is a really good type of figural bottle made in Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, this pig sold for $2,400 plus the buyer's premium; I have also posted pictures of another red earthenware pig bottle from a private American collection that is most likely directly related, although it is a few inches larger in length.
Note: This sale also included some other very good pottery, including a nineteenth century red earthenware bowl or pan with a slip decorated interior thought to have probably been made in the shop of John G. Coffman (1803-1889) in New Market, Virginia, circa 1840. The pan sold for $4,500 plus the buyer's premium. There was also a very good late eighteenth or early nineteenth century stoneware jar made by Thomas Commeraw in Manhattan that sold for $12,000 plus the buyer's premium. However, for the rest of the red earthenware and stoneware in the sale - here is a link to the auction catalog: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/309686_premier-americana-day-one/.
Update: It seems that there is also a pig in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with this same attribution: https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/55553?fbclid=IwAR2enDG4xna4aos5Fe9nx6oNYvQO_RmdRNduawpuckz6n98WAtkbG7-B7LE
Two Related 19th Century Red Earthenware Pig Bottles
2 comments:
I owned one by same maker, sold at New Haven auction with my collection.
Thank you! Will have to check your sale!
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