Happy New Year! My forthcoming two-volume, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts, due out in the winter of 2026, will include some information about red earthenware made in Bristol County, Massachusetts in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The reason for this is because a number of Bristol County's early potters can be traced back to the Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts area, as early as the 1750s.
Interestingly, there has been a lot of speculation through the years that a type of jar from Bristol County appears to have been inspired by Asian production, perhaps based on wares imported into New Bedford, Massachusetts, as part of the area's China Trade. This is the same trade that is well-known from the Salem area today, circa eighteenth and nineteenth century. Nonetheless, there are some variations of this type of Bristol County jar, seeing there were dozens of Quaker potters who worked in the area producing similar shapes adorned with a wide variety of glazes.
However, just out of curiosity, I decided to ask A.I. this morning where the inspiration for this type of Bristol County jar may have originated, and I was not surprised with the reply: "These pieces are similar to Chinese Sancai-glazed jars, originating from China during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), as well as Chinese ginger jars. The term "sancai" means "three colors" and typically refers to the brown (amber), green, and cream glazes."
Terminology and Use
- "Guan" or "Hu" (Chinese Term): In China, the form is simply called guan or hu, a general term for a jar, used to store various goods, from herbs, oils, and salt to other spices.
- "Ginger Jar" (Western Term): The name "ginger jar" was coined in the West because these specific jars often contained valuable ginger when they were exported to Europe and America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
- Shape: These
are the form of traditional ginger jars sharing a distinctive shape: a rounded,
ovoid body with high, broad shoulders and a small mouth designed to hold a
snugly fitted lid.
Note: For more information - see my fifth published book, titled, A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod: https://historicbeverly.net/product/a-celebrated-industry-the-historic-wares-of-southeastern-massachusetts-bristol-county-and-cape-cod/.
A Type of Red Earthenware Jar Made in Bristol County, Massachusetts
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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