Salem and Marblehead Provenance: An Analysis of Three Essex County Jars

This is another preview of my forthcoming two-volume, 1,900+ page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts.

While researching this book, I traced the family lineages of three related large heavily incised red earthenware jars, which strongly points to a local Salem manufacturer rather than neighboring South Danvers (now Peabody). Here is that story.

"...These three jars shown in Figure 8.31 each hold a distinct provenance rooted in regional history. The jar on the left was discovered in Salem by Lura Woodside Watkins (1897-1982) and is formally published in Figure 15 in Early New England Potters and Their Wares. The middle example, which retains its original lid, has a documented nineteenth century history of family ownership in Salem and is currently held in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum. Finally, the jar on the right possesses a direct lineage, having descended through the Brown family of Marblehead (see Volume II of this book for more information about the Browns).   

While there is no archaeological evidence to prove the exact business where these jars originated, the fact that two of the examples descended through prominent families in Salem and Marblehead may suggest a local manufacturer in Salem rather than in neighboring South Danvers, now known as Peabody. Furthermore, while Watkins published her jar as an "Early Essex County type Found in Salem," her specific context was not cited in the book or within the records at the Smithsonian. However, it is certain that she found the jar in Salem prior to the publication of her book in 1950. 

Each of these jars is heavily thrown and features relatively straight sides with no foot at the base, and each is adorned with two handles and extensive incised decoration. Furthermore, each jar likely originally included a lid similar to the lone surviving example, which rests inside the jar and features similarly heavy incised decoration..."

Related Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Jars

All Heavily Decorated with Incised Lines

All Retain Family Histories in Salem and Marblehead, Mass.

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Smithsonian Institute and Peabody Essex Museum

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