Great Selection of Vermont Red Earthenware Sells at Duane Merrill and Company

This is a small, but exceptional collection of nineteenth century red earthenware from Vermont that sold last week at Duane Merrill & Company in Williston, Vermont. All of the wares were likely made in the East Middlebury, Vermont area. The collection was consigned from a Vermont home.

The most significant piece that sold was a jar that had been adorned with an applied manganese decoration on all four sides, a type of production that is directly related to a great jar currently on display in the Americana Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. This type of production has been previously published as being from Portland, Maine, but that is inaccurate information. In fact, the MET still attributes their jar to Maine. The only difference found in the manufacture of these two objects is that the museum's jar was produced with an ovoid shape, while the jar that just sold at Duane Merrill & Company was made with straight sides.

However, there are not a lot of these types of wares in existence today decorated with this exact style of glaze. Aside from these two objects, there is a jar known that sold last year at Skinner in Boston, a pan and another jar privately owned in Maine, as well as a mug, and possibly a few other jars.

The collection also included a really nice food mold decorated with a beautiful glaze, as well as another jar and a jug. There was a good amount of red earthenware made in Vermont in the 1800s, and these pieces serve as an example of the type of wares made in the central part of the state.

Great Vermont Red Earthenware Jar

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with Manganese Decoration

Attributed to East Middlebury, Vermont

Stands 8 1/4" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

Another View of the Jar

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with Manganese Decoration

Attributed to East Middlebury, Vermont

Stands 8 1/4" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Metropolitan Museum of Art

 Another View of the Jar

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Photo Courtesy: Metropolitan Museum of Art

 (Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Vermont

This Type of Decoration and Form is Commonly Attributed to Maine Today

(Middle) 19th Century Red Earthenware Milk Pan

Attributed to Vermont

Both Ex-Ron and Penny Dionne Collection

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Photo Courtesy: Antiques & Fine Art Magazine, Ray Egan

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Vermont

Sold in a Collection of Vermont Pottery in Boston in November 2018

Stands 10" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Skinner

 Other Examples of Vermont Red Earthenware

  19th Century Red Earthenware Food Mold

Attributed to East Middlebury, Vermont

Measures 11 1/4" in Diameter

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

 View of the Interior

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

 View of the Base

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

  19th Century Red Earthenware Jar

Attributed to East Middlebury, Vermont

Stands 9 3/4" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

 View of One of the Handles

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug

Attributed to East Middlebury, Vermont

Stands 11 1/2" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Duane Merrill & Company

View of 

A Wonderful 19th Century Red Earthenware Pan Purchased Just Outside of Buffalo, New York

While vacationing in Western New York earlier this month with my nephew Jason and niece Alexis, we purchased this great nineteenth century pan from Muleskinner Antiques in Williamsville, New York. We were told the pan was purchased from a private collector in Virginia, who did a lot of their collecting in Western New York.

At first, it did not even cross my mind that I should handle this piece because the way it was displayed made it look like stoneware. The pan stood upright and all that I could see was the interior. I eventually picked it up out of curiosity, and was really surprised that some glaze skips and a few chips on the back revealed that it was actually made of red earthenware.

The stoneware appearance was likely the intent of this piece when it was made, and I suspect that it was made in either Western New York or Ontario. This type of stoneware imitation was not really popular with red earthenware production anywhere else in America, thus why I suggest the origin that I did.

Nevertheless, I was thrilled to see this piece, which is decorated in a gray glaze that is a perfect match to the color found on a lot of nineteenth century American stoneware.

Red Earthenware Pan Purchased in Williamsville, NY

My Niece Alexis Holding the 19th Century Red Earthenware Pan 

This Photo was Taken Just After We Purchased it from Muleskinner Antiques in Williamsville, NY

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View of the Back

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19th Century Red Earthenware Pan

Likely Made in Either Western New York or Ontario

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View of the Back

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Another View of the Interior

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Another View of the Back

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

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Found in Ellsworth, Maine with a Glaze that Sparkles in Sunlight

It has been a few years now since I wrote about a fascinating nineteenth century red earthenware jug that I found on the Mid-Coast of Maine, which I was told at the time had just been discovered in an old house in Brunswick, Maine. I had suspected that jug was made in northern New England, and possibly from Maine; although, a characteristic about that jug that really piqued my curiosity was the fact that the glaze sparkled in the sunlight. There were tiny pieces of some type of material in the glaze that caused it to appear this way.

But while vacationing over the weekend with my niece, Alexis in Bar Harbor, Maine - we found a dark green glazed jar with this same type of sparkle effect in the glaze. It crossed my mind that this may have been caused from ground up glass or mica that was added to the glaze. But I am not certain of that, and I certainly cannot recall having having seen many objects with this type of glaze in any of my travels and research.

We found this jar in a small group shop in downtown Ellsworth, Maine. The jar was covered in dirt, but we could clearly see a green glaze hidden beneath. I tried my best to photograph the sparkle that I am referencing, however it is a lot clearer when holding either of these objects in-hand outdoors on a sunny day.

Jar Found in Downtown Ellsworth, ME

 My Niece Alexis Holding the New Jar on the Waterfront in Bar Harbor, ME

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(Left) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug with a Glaze that Sparkles in Sunlight

Possibly Made in Maine

Reportedly Found a Few Years Ago in an Old House in Brunswick, ME

Stands 8 3/8" Tall

(Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug with a Glaze that Sparkles in Sunlight

Possibly Made in Maine

Found Over the Weekend in Downtown Ellsworth, ME

Stands 7 5/8" Tall

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Another View of the Jug and the Jar

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

19th Century Earthenware Crock Found in Western New York

While vacationing in Western New York last week with my niece and nephew, we found a few pieces of locally made pottery to bring home . This two-gallon crock is the first piece that we encountered, which on first sight may appear to be stoneware. But it's not. We found this piece not far from Niagara Falls, and I believe it was made in Ontario in the nineteenth century.

This is actually an earthenware crock made to look like stoneware in form and decoration. The beautifully applied flowers are green, as is much of the exterior and interior. But small amounts of yellow can also be seen in the glaze.

I asked the person selling this piece if they knew any information about its history, but they told me they did not know much about it. They said it was likely found locally in Western New York. I would date this piece as having been made during the second-half of the nineteenth century.

However, I rarely see this type of production in New England or even in my travels - so I felt compelled to buy this piece for my collection. I think it's an excellent and underappreciated form of Canadian production, and I strongly feel that these wares should certainly be appreciated in both countries.

Outside of a few potters in Western New York and maybe a couple of other places, we just do not see this type of stoneware imitation. This is really a style that is unlike anything I have seen from the vast majority of nineteenth century American red earthenware potters. I think this is a really neat piece!

Earthenware Crock Found in Western New York

19th Century Two-Gallon Earthenware Crock Likely Made in Ontario

Recently Found Near Niagara Falls

Stands About 14" Tall

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View of the Interior

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Another View of the Jar

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Another View of the Interior

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

A Wonderful Red Earthenware Cooler in the Collection of the Livingston County Historical Museum

While traveling through upstate New York last week with my nephew Jason and niece Alexis, we visited the Livingston County Historical Museum in Geneseo, New York. We were introduced to a number of great objects inside this museum, but the purpose of our visit was to see a wonderful nineteenth century red earthenware cooler inscribed "Ice Cream" that I wrote about last winter.

I had initially suggested that this jar was very possibly made by Heber Kimball (1801-1868) in Mendon, New York. And after seeing and handling this object, I still feel this pot was made by Kimball. The form and glaze seem to correspond with two jars said to have been made by Kimball in the collection of the Museum of Church History in Salt Lake City, Utah; however, I also noticed small traces of slip-decoration all over this cooler, and Heber Kimball was also known to have decorated some of his wares in various colors of slip.

According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Heber C. Kimball (1801-1868) was born on June 14, 1801, in Sheldon, Vermont. He was ordained as one of the original 12 Apostles on February 14, 1835, and later sustained as first counselor to President Brigham Young (1801-1877) who was also from Vermont, on December 27, 1847. Kimball died on June 22, 1868, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 67. He was a potter by trade, and he frequently referred to the Saints as "Clay in the Hands of the Potter." He delivered his discourse on April 2, 1854."

Furthermore, agreeing to take on plural marriage, then part of church doctrine, Kimball married 43 women throughout his lifetime, and had a total of 66 children by 17 of his wives.

However, before Kimball arrived in Utah, he left Vermont and relocated about 15 miles south of Rochester, New York to Mendon, Monroe County, New York in the western part of the state. This may have been a religious quest, seeing that at the time, parts of New York were engulfed with new religious movements, finding much of this activity in central and western upstate New York.

This was also a time in Western New York history, when land opened up for settlement, men and women left their rocky farms in New England and moved west, while Pennsylvanians and Marylanders migrated from the south. 

It was in Mendon that Kimball first became a Mormon leader, but he also bought a pottery owned by his brother around 1822, operating until about 1833. Nevertheless, very little is known about this production today, even though there must be surviving examples in existence. Although, I have found no evidence that suggests any of this pottery was ever marked, nor does it appear that the site has been excavated for archaeological remains. I also do not believe it has been identified where Kimball was originally taught to make pottery, but it is thought that he may have learned the craft in West Bloomfield, New York.

According to one twentieth century historian, Stanley B. Kimball (1926-2003), "The energetic Heber could turn out 20 dozen milk pans on a hard day at the potter's wheel. Apparently he specialized in common brownware made from fine-textured clay burned to a very high degree and covered by a hard brown glaze. It was used mainly for simple kitchen and table items - jars, crocks, pitchers, bottles, mugs, pots, milk pans, cups, churns and plates"

Though Heber Kimball gave up his potter's wheel once he was ordained as an apostle, he did not forget his experience as a potter. In later sermons, Kimball compared the shaping of his own life by the Lord "to the molding of malleable clay with his own hands."

Western New York Red Earthenware Cooler

My Nephew Jason and Niece Alexis Outside the Livingston County Historical Museum

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My Niece Alexis with the Cooler

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Photo Courtesy: Livingston County Historical Museum

19th Century Western New York Red Earthenware Cooler

Very Possibly Made by Heber Kimball in Mendon, NY

Stands About 14" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Livingston County Historical Museum

Another View of the Cooler

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Photo Courtesy: Livingston County Historical Museum

View of One Handle

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Photo Courtesy: Livingston County Historical Museum

View of the Other Handle

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Photo Courtesy: Livingston County Historical Museum

View of the Cooler's Hole

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Photo Courtesy: Livingston County Historical Museum

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

Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics

With the month of August more than half way over, I thought it would be a good time to provide an update on the pottery exhibit that I am guest curating at the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The title of the exhibit is Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics, covering earthenware and stoneware production in the Newburyport area from the eighteenth through the early-twentieth century.

The names associated with this production include Bayley, Bodge, Chase, Pecker and Nickerson - and the exhibiting wares will include archaeology, a wide variety of local production from various museums and private collections, as well as objects made by these potters recovered at archaeology sites elsewhere in New England.

The exhibit officially opens to the public on Saturday September 7th, and there will be a couple of national feature stories published before then previewing the exhibit and the history of this production in some of the antique trade publications. However, I also want to give a sneak peak today showing the cover of the exhibit catalog, which will be available for purchase once the exhibit opens. The catalog includes a history of pottery production in Merrimacport (formerly South Amesbury), Massachusetts and Newburyport, along with a lot of the archaeology and wares that will be displayed in the exhibit.

Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics

Exhibit Catalog: Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics

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

Feature Story About the Career, Research and Collection of Frederick H. Norton Published in the August 16, 2019 Issue of Antiques & Auction News

For those of you who are interested, here are links to my latest feature story published in the August 16, 2019 issue of Antiques & Auction News, which covers the career, research and collection of Frederick H. Norton (1896-1986), a physicist and ceramicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was also a descendent of the famed Norton family of potters in New England. My niece, Alexis is excited over the article seeing that she is illustrated in it besides two of the few known pots made by Norton that are not owned by MIT or the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Here is a link to the online version of the story. But I have also posted links below to the print version, which I personally prefer to read.

1) Career, Research and Collection of Frederick H. Norton - Page 1
2) Career, Research and Collection of Frederick H. Norton - Page 2

August 16, 2019 Issue of Antiques & Auction News

My Niece Holding the August 16, 2019 Issue of Antiques & Auction News

A Feature Story I Wrote About Frederick H. Norton (1896-1986) is Published in this Issue

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My Niece Holding the August 16, 2019 Issue of Antiques & Auction News

A Feature Story I Wrote About Frederick H. Norton (1896-1986) is Published in this Issue

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