Maine Redware Jug

These early ovoid Redware Jugs are among the most beautiful examples of American Pottery.  Graceful lines, good proportions, and a lustrous glaze elevate this Jug to the highest form of the potter's art.  The soft colors of the various shades of green and yellow over the freckled brown glaze is truly eye candy.  It was impossible to capture the subtle coloration with the camera.   Though our little jug is first of all utilitarian in nature, our folk artist potter created a beautiful object that did not need any other adornment.  The beauty found in the form and the glaze is the source of aesthetic pleasure.  That is what Folk Art is all about.

New England Redware is unique unto itself.  When the German potters came to Pennsylvania, the country had been occupied for more than one hundred years.  They brought with them a long tradition of decoration that was fully developed in their homeland.  In contrast, in New England, the potters worked out of necessity and their time was occupied in making utilitarian vessels.  They had little opportunity or desire to decorate their wares as the need for useful objects was greater than the urge to decorate them.  The inherent beauty in New England redware is in its simplicity, functionality, lustrous glazes, soft colors and shapes of good proportion.  As Watkins states in Early New England Potters and Their Wares, New England Redware, "Earthy by its very nature, with its suggestion of soil, leaves, and trees, it captures the essence of the early potter's environment.  That its beauty is largely accidental makes it no less lovable:  its variations are like the changes of Nature herself, never ending, ever yielding fresh enjoyment.  It is truly an expression  of simple people . . . men almost without conscious thought of art.  Like them their pottery is strong, direct, stripped of pretense and foolish ornamentation. It was created to fill a demand, and, incidentally, to please those who came to buy."  That about says it all, I think.

This is a wonderful example of the potter's art and the glaze is stunning, the colors rich, and the condition excellent. No apologies here! The strength of this piece lies in its small size, form and the colorful glaze as well as the excellent overall condition.  

As redware is one of the least durable ceramic types, being porous and brittle and easily cracked,  it is truly amazing that this little gem has survived over two centuries in such fabulous condition.  It is as perfect as it gets!  It stands 7-1/2" tall and 5" wide at the widest part tapering down to 3-1/2" at the base.  Most probably by John Safford, Kennebec Valley, Maine.

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