This was perhaps a lucky find in the lakes region in New Hampshire yesterday! In fact, I would love for this hand-thrown or wheel-thrown double-handled salt-glazed stoneware jar (possibly a sugar bowl) with probably its original lid to be an American made object, although I suspect it could also be from Germany or Europe.
The unmarked jar is decorated on one side with a hand-inscribed flower that is partially infilled with cobalt. I was told that it was found a while back as part of a local house clean-out of an old home located to the east of Alton Bay, New Hampshire. The way the lid was made also reminded me of some earthenware lids that were produced in North Carolina in the 1900s, although I do know that this object has some age to it. It also appears that the lid and jar may have been fired in separate areas of the kiln based on the color of the clay of each object.
However, coincidentally, early German stoneware and red earthenware found in various contexts in New England is also the subject of my next feature story that will be published in a few weeks in Antiques And The Arts Weekly.
Are there any ideas about this object? The photos posted below show the stoneware jar in two different types of lighting, whereas the first is natural sunlight along Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, while the remaining group of four photos were taken with bright interior lights.
Someone also suggested yesterday that this may have been a student project or made by a studio potter who worked with salt-glazed pottery, although I do not believe that is the case, seeing that the jar is quite refined and the feel of the object really reminds me of more traditional salt-glazed stoneware. Thoughts?
Note: I also want to add that to my knowledge - this type of salt-glazed stoneware was rather unusual for American art potters (and probably pre-1960 studio potters, too), as stated in a story I wrote that was published on pages 50-51 in the February 9, 2024 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, The Salt-Glazed Stoneware Made By Russell Crook, South Lincoln, Mass.: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/01/published-feature-story-in-antiques-and.html.
Update: This appears to be an object made at the Williamsburg Pottery in Virginia, which could have been made by James Maloney (1912-2005) in the 1930s-1960s.
A Salt-Glaze Double-Handled Stoneware Jar Found in N.H.
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
No comments:
Post a Comment