A Second 19th Century Stoneware Jug with an Incised Eagle from the Barnabas Edmands Pottery in Charlestown, Massachusetts

I asked these questions at the end of yesterday's post about the best known examples of eighteenth and nineteenth century red earthenware and stoneware made in Charlestown, Massachusetts.  "Did I leave anything out? Are there more examples of Charlestown pottery out there of this quality still yet to be discovered?"

The basis of the story was a nineteenth century two-gallon stoneware jug decorated with an incised eagle and fish, stamped "Barnabas Edmands & Co. / Charlestown," which had just sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland. The jug was made in Charlestown, Massachusetts about 1830, and it is certainly among the most important examples of pre-1850 pottery known to exist from anywhere in New England today.

It was about 1812 that Barnabas Edmands (1778-1872) built a stoneware manufactory on Austin Street in Charlestown. The stoneware factory (more than one location) successfully manufactured utilitarian stoneware, as well as some decorative objects through the turn of the twentieth century. 

Additionally, the jug to my knowledge is one of the finest objects known from the Edmands Pottery in existence today; it sold to Ceramics in America editor Rob Hunter for $150,000 plus the 20 percent buyer's premium, tying the record for an example of Massachusetts stoneware at $180,000. The jug is also illustrated on the cover of Georgeanna H. Greer's book, American Stonewares: The Art and Craft of Utilitarian Potters.

Nonetheless, after I posted the story yesterday, I learned about this jug, where the craftsmanship of the inscised decoration is certainly comparable to the example that sold at Crocker Farm. This incredible circa 1830 three-gallon jug from Charlestown is also incised with a spread-winged eagle and a federal shield standing on a pedestal, whereas the rim is stamped "B. Edmands & Co." This larger jug is currently privately owned, although it last sold in an Americana sale as lot number 151 at Sotheby's in New York City on October 9, 1997.

19th C. Stoneware Jug from the Edmands Pottery in Charlestown, Mass.

19th Century 3-Gallon Stoneware Jug with an Incised Eagle and Federal Shield

The Eagle is Perched on a Pedestal of Some Kind

Made at the Barnabas Edmands Pottery in Charlestown, Massachusetts

The Rim is Stamped "B. Edmands & Co."

Probably Made About Circa 1830

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Martin Kaye

Here are Both Jugs Pictured Together

Each Made at the Barnabas Edmands Pottery in Charlestown, Massachusetts

Circa 1830

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm and Martin Kaye

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