When Lura Woodside Watkins (1897-1982) recovered this slip-decorated red earthenware sherd in the 1940s from the 1781-1817 Clark Purinton Junior (1753-1840) pottery site in Somerset, Massachusetts, she recognized it as a vital diagnostic marker for the region's production. Although she only collected three surface fragments from the site—now preserved at the Smithsonian—her selection was deliberate. These artifacts serve as physical proof of the specific decorative styles and manufacturing techniques that defined some of Bristol County's household pottery during this period: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/05/somersets-story-in-three-red.html.
Furthermore, the existing hand-thrown red earthenware pan shown below from Bristol County is similar to the sherd in glaze color, slip technique and the way the rim was manufactured. These simple slip patterns may have also been a deliberate choice by the Quaker potters of Bristol County, as part of their Testimony of Plainness, favoring utility over elaborate ornamentation. By comparing the sherd’s glaze and thickness to the pan’s form, it would seem that the Clark Junior site was a major source of utilitarian red earthenware for the area, which helped define some of Somerset’s early industrial identity.
I have also included a photo of another slip decorated red earthenware pan from Bristol County, dating to the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Although the slipwork is more elaborate, I suspect this piece also originated in Somerset, where production began with the Chace family about 1705 and later with Clark Purinton Senior (1729-1797) around the mid-eighteenth century.
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/.
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