Years ago, I acquired this nineteenth century red earthenware pot likely with its original lid from a private collection in central Massachusetts. While the exact maker is unknown, it is published in some of my books, seeing that I believe it was made in either New England or New York State. Interestingly, though, the reason I wanted it for my personal collection is because it matches an object painted in 1937 by Jessica Price (1906-1987), titled "Jar With Cover," as part of the Smithsonian Institution's Index of American Design: https://www.nga.gov/artworks/18437-jar-cover.
The Index of American Design was a pioneering New Deal initiative launched in 1935 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Designed to employ out-of-work artists during the Great Depression, the project set out to create a massive visual archive of everyday American material culture from the colonial era through the nineteenth century. Roughly 1,000 artists traveled the country, creating over 18,000 hyper-realistic watercolor drawings of textiles, ironwork, and regional pottery.
Interestingly, this is the only handled pot of its kind that I have ever seen. By matching it to Jessica Price’s 1937 watercolor, the piece becomes somewhat a part of national history. It serves as a real, hands-on connection to the everyday heritage that Great Depression-era artists worked so hard to save through the Index of American Design, 1935-1942.
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