Give Drink to the Thirsty: An Important Norwalk, Connecticut Red Earthenware Dish

A few months ago, a wonderful nineteenth-century slip-decorated red earthenware dish, which was attributed to the potter's industry in Norwalk, Connecticut appeared in an antique shop in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The writing was difficult to decipher; however, it was eventually determined that the slip read, 'Alms Dish.' This was a significant discovery if this is how this dish was truly used, where an Alms dish would have been treated as a tray, which was used for collecting the offering (money) from a congregation.

It just dawned on me that this was not the only example of religion that is found in slip-decorated red earthenware made in Norwalk before 1860. An incredible dish sold last May, when Skinner sold Lewis Scranton's collection of Americana at an amazing onsite sale in Killingworth, Connecticut. 'Give Drink to the Thirsty' was written in slip on this important dish, which has also recently been recreated by Oregonia, Ohio potter, Greg Shooner.

According to the website, 'The Divine Mercy,' "The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in spiritual and bodily necessities. The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy seek to help alleviate human misery - material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness and death.

The Corporal Works of Mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned and burying the dead. Among all these giving alms (money) to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity."

Note: Here is a link to the 'Give Drink to the Thirsty' dish, which is listed as part of Lewis Scranton's catalog on Skinner's website.

Important Norwalk, Connecticut Dish

19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Dish Attributed to Norwalk, Connecticut

Written in Slip, 'Give Drink to the Thirsty'

Circa 1820-1860

Measures 13 3/4" in Length

Ex-Lewis Scranton Collection - Killingworth, CT

Photo Courtesy: Lewis Scranton - Killingworth, CT

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

A Beautiful 19th Century New England Red Earthenware Pitcher

This is an absolutely stunning early-nineteenth-century red earthenware pitcher, which I acquired a few summers ago at a Willis Henry auction in Manchester, New Hampshire. The pitcher had been consigned as part of the Earl Curry Collection of red earthenware and stoneware. Willis Henry sold Curry's collection through the span of four auctions between 2013 to 2015. However, I feel this piece is arguably among the rarest and most appealing objects that were collected by the late Mr. Curry.

I have not been able to develop an accurate attribution for this object, yet, but I feel it was made somewhere along coastal Massachusetts, circa 1800-1830. Interestingly, there are a couple of these pitchers that are known to exist today in private collections, but I do not know of any examples that are owned by museums, such as the Smithsonian, Historic New England, Old Sturbridge Village, etc.

The glaze is spectacular! Although, I do know of a few related pieces; however, I feel this pitcher could be the best known glaze from this unknown potter's production that survives today.

If you look closely, just below the rim, you will see that the potter also added a stamped decoration, which extends around the entire pitcher. I feel this is a remarkable example of New England-made red earthenware that is rarely seen today.

 Early-19th Century New England Red Earthenware Pitcher

Likely Made in Coastal Massachusetts

Circa 1800-1830

Stands 9 1/8" Tall

Ex-Earl Curry Collection - Massachusetts

 Another View of the Pitcher

Another View of the Pitcher

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

A Bargain 18th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher that Sold in 2009

I was recently studying some past auction results at some of the larger American auction houses, when I came across an incredible bargain at Crocker Farm in 2009. This wonderful late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth-century red earthenware pitcher sold for only $149.50. It was likely made in coastal Massachusetts, where I think an argument can be made for potters in both Essex County, Massachusetts and southeastern Massachusetts; although, the strongest argument is probably southeastern Massachusetts

The reason it was such a bargain is a result of the form, which is rarely seen today. The form also appears like it dates from the eighteenth-century, possibly as-early-as circa 1770.

There are only a small number of these type of pitchers, which are known to exist today. For example, Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts owns an example that was brokered into the museum as part of the William T. Brandon Memorial Collection of American Redware and Ceramics.

According to 'Antiques and the Arts Weekly,' "William 'Bill' T. Brandon (1935-2005) grew up in North Carolina, but lived in Massachusetts for more than fifty years. Brandon had a number of educational and professional achievements, but he was also an avid historian, amateur archaeologist and pottery collector. His collection ranged in date from eighteenth to early twentieth century examples, focusing predominantly on New England-made ceramics, particularly redware, a topic in which he had intended to write a book. The core of the collection was given to him by his friend, Dr. Burton Gates (1881-1972), a professor of biology at Clark University, who was an early researcher and antiques dealer in the field of American ceramics and glass. Largely assembled before 1930, the material that Gates acquired concentrated on objects with family provenances and documentation."

Recently, Massachusetts auctioneer, Willis Henry also sold one of these pitchers in 2013 from the Earl Curry Collection in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The pitcher sold for almost $10,000; however, it is considered to be one of the best pitchers known from this form (and potter) as-a-result of the beautiful glaze.

Nevertheless, I wish I had paid better attention to Crocker Farm's auction in March 2009. But I assume this pitcher is also kept in a private collection since this object does not appear to have resurfaced.

Note: Here is a link to a similar pitcher that I acquired from Killingworth, Connecticut antiques dealer, Lewis Scranton in 2014 at the annual New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association Show in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Crocker Farm Pitcher

 Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to Coastal Massachusetts

Likely Southeastern Massachusetts

Circa 1770-1810

Stands Approximately 8" to 10" Tall

Sold for $149.50 in 2009

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Another View of the Pitcher

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Historic Deerfield Pitcher

 Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to Coastal Massachusetts

Likely Southeastern Massachusetts

Circa 1770-1810

Stands Approximately 10" Tall

William T. Brandon Memorial Collection of American Redware and Ceramics

Ex-Dr. Burton Gates Collection

Photo Courtesy: Historic Deerfield - Deerfield, Mass.

 Another View of the Pitcher

Photo Courtesy: Historic Deerfield - Deerfield, Mass.

 Dr. Burton Gates Handwritten Tag from 1918

Photo Courtesy: Historic Deerfield - Deerfield, Mass.

Willis Henry Pitcher

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to Coastal Massachusetts

Likely Southeastern Massachusetts

Circa 1770-1810

Stands 8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Willis Henry - Marshfield, Mass.

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

A Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar that was Purchased in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

A few years ago, I acquired this rare nineteenth-century red earthenware jar from Pittsford, Vermont antiques dealers, Michael and Lucinda Seward at an antique show in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. At the time, I remember some people had speculated that this jar may have been made by Charles A. Mehwaldt in Bergholz, New York, as-a-result of the number '2,' which had been incised on the side of the jar. The incised number is a characteristic that some of Mehwaldt's red earthenware products exhibit today, including a few examples that are owned by the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. However, this type of incised number is not just limited to Mehwaldt's production - there were plenty of other potters, who also used this technique.

Michael Seward had told me that he felt this jar was made in Massachusetts, as that is also where I recall that he picked the object. I also felt the jar was made in New England since I remembered a similar jar that had been for sale with Sheffield, Massachusetts antiques dealer, Samuel Herrup, which was similar in form with identical handles (see below).

Ultimately, I purchased the jar due to its rare form, rare glaze and rare handles. Initially, when I saw this object -- the handles also reminded me of similar handles that are on a jar that is owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The museum's jar also retains a history of ownership in Sandwich, Massachusetts, where I believe it was likely made nearby at the Bradford-Parker Pottery on Cape Cod in West Barnstable, Massachusetts, circa 1820-1850.

Note: Here is a link to an article that discusses the jar that is owned by Old Sturbridge Village, which retains a history of ownership in Sandwich. Here is also a link to a recent article that discusses the archaeology of the Bradford-Parker Pottery in West Barnstable, where similar spotted glazes were recovered when compared to what is seen on this jar.

I have also shown a late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth-century red earthenware jar from southeastern Massachusetts, which is incised in a similar style with the number '29.'

Jar Purchased a Few Years Ago

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to New England

Likely Made in Central or Northern New England

Possibly Made at the Bradford-Parker Pottery in West Barnstable, Mass.

Jar Incised on the Side with a Number '2' (See Jar Below)
Form is Very Similar to the Form (and Handles) Seen on the Jar Below

Circa 1800-1840

Stands 10" Tall

Another View of the Jar

View of the Incised Number '2' 

View of One Handle 

View of the Other Handle 

View of the Interior 

View of the Footed Base 

View of the Base 

Another View of the Base

Jar Sold by Samuel Herrup

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to New England

Likely Made in Central or Northern New England

Possibly Made at the Bradford-Parker Pottery in West Barnstable, Mass.
Form is Very-Similar to the Form Discussed Above
Unusual Handles Match the Handles Seen on the Jar Discussed Above

Circa 1800-1840

Stands Approximately 10" Tall
Photo Courtesy: Samuel Herrup - Sheffield, Mass.

Southeastern Massachusetts Jar

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Jar

Attributed to Southeastern Massachusetts

Jar Incised with a Number '29'

A Similar Incised Number '2" is Seen on the Jar Discussed Above

Circa 1780-1820

Stands Approximately 9" Tall

Photo Courtesy; Private New England Collection 

Another View of the Jar

Photo Courtesy; Private New England Collection

Comparison of Incised Numbers

 View of the Incised Number '2" on the New England Jar

View of the Incised Number '29' on the Southeastern Massachusetts Jar

Photo Courtesy; Private New England Collection

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

A Rare 19th Century Maine-Made Red Earthenware Jug

This is a red earthenware jug that a friend of mine recently acquired, which was made in Maine around the mid-nineteenth-century. The maker is not completely known; although, this jug does exhibit characteristics that are found with red earthenware that was made at the Safford family pottery in Monmouth, Maine, the North Yarmouth, Maine potter's industry, and with some of the smaller rural potteries in southern Maine.

Interestingly, the interior of the jug smells like it may have been used to store Maple syrup in the nineteenth-century. According to the Maine Maple Producers Association, "Maine has a long history of Maple sugaring going back to the native American tribes of the northeast. Up until the 1800's, Maple sugar was the primary form of sugar used in the United States. Once the sugar cane industry opened in the Caribbean Islands in the 1800's, Maple syrup became a delicacy in the nineteenth-century."

This jug displays a wonderful dark-green glaze that is softly decorated with orange halos, which happened as-a-result of a reaction that occurred in the potter's kiln. This jug is also decorated with small amounts of manganese, which appear to have been splashed or dripped onto the top half of the jug. This style of applying the manganese was also popular with red earthenware potters in Essex County, Massachusetts in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

Maine-Made Jug

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug that was Made in Maine

Possibly Made in North Yarmouth, ME or Somewhere Else in Southern Maine

Circa 1820-1860

Stands 9 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Mark Chaplin - Maine & Massachusetts

Another View of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Mark Chaplin - Maine & Massachusetts

Another View of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Mark Chaplin - Maine & Massachusetts

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Mark Chaplin - Maine & Massachusetts

View of the Handle and Rim

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Mark Chaplin - Maine & Massachusetts

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Mark Chaplin - Maine & Massachusetts

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

The 19th Century Bradford-Parker Pottery from West Barnstable, Massachusetts

According to Cape Cod antiques dealer, Brian Cullity, "These sherds illustrate some of the forms and decorative techniques used at the West Barnstable Pottery by Noah Bradford and Daniel Parker, Jr. Parker worked for his father-in-law before assuming the operation of the pottery following the death of Bradford in 1832. Most pieces displayed a clear lead glaze, but a number of them were various shades of green, and some manganese black. 

A surprising number of fragments revealed incised decoration with multiple wavy bands. Kiln furniture from the site included cut and pinched wedges, cockspurs and a partial setting tile."

This information was published in 1991, when Brian Cullity published 'Slipped & Glazed: Regional American Redware,' which was a book that went with an American redware exhibit that Brian had assembled at the Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, Massachusetts.

Luckily, I was recently given all of the sherds that Brian had collected at the site of the Bradford-Parker Pottery in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. I was surprised at the variety of glazes, which resemble the variety of colors found at potter's sites elsewhere in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. The majority of the sherds appeared to have come from utilitarian forms, such as partially glazed pots, flower pots and pans, but there appeared to be more refined objects, as well.

From the potter's site that I have studied, I have found that the majority of the production often included thicker potted utilitarian objects. However, potters also made more refined objects, such as jugs and pitchers.

The variety of glaze-colors at the Bradford-Parker site also shows why attribution on glaze alone is extremely risky, unless it is a distinct characteristic.

Note: Here is a link to an article that I wrote about a red earthenware jar, which is owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I believe this object was produced at the Bradford-Parker Pottery in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. I have also shown another jar that is also owned by Old Sturbridge Village, which I also believe was made at the Bradford-Parker Pottery.

Bradford-Parker Pottery Sherds

19th Century Glazes Created at the Bradford-Parker Pottery - West Barnstable, Mass.

Sherds Recovered at the Bradford-Parker Pottery

Recovered by Cape Cod Antiques Dealer, Brian Cullity

 19th Century Glazes Created at the Bradford-Parker Pottery - West Barnstable, Mass.

Sherds Recovered at the Bradford-Parker Pottery

Recovered by Cape Cod Antiques Dealer, Brian Cullity

 19th Century Glazes Created at the Bradford-Parker Pottery - West Barnstable, Mass.

Sherds Recovered at the Bradford-Parker Pottery

Recovered by Cape Cod Antiques Dealer, Brian Cullity

19th Century Glazes Created at the Bradford-Parker Pottery - West Barnstable, Mass.

Sherds Recovered at the Bradford-Parker Pottery

Recovered by Cape Cod Antiques Dealer, Brian Cullity

Jars Owned by Old Sturbridge Village

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with Ties to Sandwich, Massachusetts

Very-Likely Made at the Bradford-Parker Pottery - West Barnstable, Mass.

Circa 1820-1850

Stands Approximately 10" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, Mass.

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with Ties to Sandwich, Massachusetts

Very-Likely Made at the Bradford-Parker Pottery - West Barnstable, Mass.

Circa 1820-1850

Stands Approximately 10" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, Mass.

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

A 19th Century Stoneware Tree Trunk Planter Made at the Norton Pottery in Worcester, Massachusetts

This is a stoneware tree trunk planter that was made at the Norton Pottery in Worcester, Massachusetts in the late-nineteenth-century. This is a form that is often attributed to the Norton Pottery; however, I have found that this is an attribution that may be used too often since this form was made by many potter's businesses in the 1800's.

This type of form was made throughout the United States, in eastern Canada and in Europe. Tree trunk planters were also made out of stoneware, sewer tile and red earthenware. It depended on the location, the potter's business and the type of production, which a particular business was known for to determine what type of clay would have been used in production.

Nevertheless, I thought this would be a good object to show this morning in order to see how a tree trunk planter actually appeared from the Norton Pottery in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Note: This object is currently for sale in 'From Out of the Woods' in Goffstown, New Hampshire.

Norton Potttery - Worcester, Mass.

Late-19th Century Stoneware Tree Trunk Planter

Attributed to the Norton Pottery in Worcester, Mass.

Circa 1870

Stands Approximately 10" Tall

Photo Courtesy: From Out of the Woods - Goffstown, NH

 Another View of the Tree Trunk Planter

Photo Courtesy: From Out of the Woods - Goffstown, NH

 View of the Interior

Photo Courtesy: From Out of the Woods - Goffstown, NH

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: From Out of the Woods - Goffstown, NH

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