A form that is rarely seen with American red earthenware production is a candlestick, whereas the most prominent example is likely one that was made about 1880 by Anthony Baecher (1824-1889) in Winchester, Virginia. That candlestick sold for $60,000 plus the auction premium at Pook & Pook Inc. in Downington, Pennsylvania in 2014. The reason it commanded such a strong price was a result of it being stamped three times on the underside "Baecher Winchester VA," as well as being regarded as the only known example of the hand-crafted form made by Baecher.
However, three nineteenth century red earthenware candlesticks have also been found in Western New York through the years, and perhaps they may have all been made in that region. The most recent identified example is an object that I learned about a few days ago from Ron Korman of Muleskinner Antiques in Cheektowaga, New York, which was found about twenty years ago in Western New York.
Furthermore, two of the candlesticks are hand-thrown, while the third is molded. The molded example was possibly made by Carl Mehwaldt (1808-1887) in the village of Bergholz in Niagara County, New York; although, archaeological evidence recovered at the site of the Mehwaldt Pottery that is owned by the Das Haus Museum reveals that Mehwaldt also appears to have manufactured hand-thrown candlesticks.
Furthermore, author Ada Walker Camehl noted the production of candlesticks in an article she wrote for the September 1922 issue of The Magazine Antiques, titled, Mehwaldt, a Pioneer American Potter, "Carl Mehwaldt produced quantities of chimney crocks, red earthenware crocks of all sizes, butter-crocks with handles to be hung in wells to keep butter cool; cooking utensils, candlesticks, all manners of tableware - platters, plates, sauce-dishes, cups and saucers, mugs, pitchers, sugar bowls, vegetable dishes, teapots and teakettles. He also produced finer products like inkstands and tile stoves."
For more information about Mehwaldt, see a feature story I wrote for the October 15, 2021 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, Carl Mehwaldt: A Pioneer German-American Potter And 19th-Century Immigrant - Redware From Western New York State: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2021/10/print-version-of-new-published-research.html.
Also, see another feature story I wrote for the December 16, 2022 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, Unique Red Earthenware Rediscovered In Western New York: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2022/12/new-published-story-unique-red.html.
19th Century Red Earthenware Candlesticks Found in Western New York
Candlestick No. 1
No comments:
Post a Comment