4 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — July 8, 2022
Rare Red Earthenware Urn Discovered At
Newburyport Estate Auction
Auction Action In Newburyport, Mass.
Submitted By Justin W. Thomas
NEWBURYPORT, MASS. —
Auctioneer John McInnis and
gallery director Dan Meader
conducted a discovery estate
auction at the Masonic Temple
in downtown, Newburyport on
Saturday June 18, where the
contents of an old Georgetown,
Mass., estate were sold. Among
the objects found in the estate
were a number of examples of
Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Century New England country
and formal furniture, a painted
yellow on black side chair from
Baltimore that was likely made
at the Finlay workshop, a selec-
tion of Massachusetts glass from
Sandwich and Boston, as well as
six exterior lanterns that were
originally used on a storefront at
Jordan Marsh.
Additionally, there were two
wonderful pieces of pottery dis-
covered at the sale, one of which
is the exciting “find” of a Nine-
teenth Century hand-thrown
red earthenware urn with a
marbled glaze and profiles on
either side of what appears to be
Marquis de Lafayette (1757-
1834) with a shield, tassels and
possibly a sheaf of wheat. The
production of this piece relates
to pieces made at the Dodge Pot-
tery in Portland, Maine, includ-
ing the lid’s finial and the glaze.
The overall manufacture of this
piece is also like that of a green
glazed two-piece urn owned by
the Maine Historical Society,
which is signed by Benjamin
Dodge (1774-1838), whose son
Benjamin Dodge Junior (1802-
1875) succeed him in the family
business. However, it should be
noted that some of these styles
from the Dodge Pottery have
been loosely attributed to Thom-
as Truxton Kendrick (1803-
1878) Pottery in Hollis, Maine,
but concrete evidence has prov-
en otherwise.
Interestingly, though, if this
piece was made in Portland, like
I suspect it was, then it is a style
that I have only previously read
about but have never had the
opportunity to examine in per-
son.
The following information is
This profile in relief appears to be
the Marquis de Lafayette, with a
shield, tassels and possibly a sheaf
of wheat. The other side is decorat-
ed with the same figure.
The estate in Georgetown, Mass., where these two pottery
objects were found.
from a paper written by William
Goold (1809-1890) that was
acquired by the Maine Histori-
cal Society’s library in 1928.
Goold owned a General Store in
Portland that was located near
the Dodge Pottery when it was
in operation.
“Mr. Dodge made progress in
his Art. He commenced to orna-
ment the most expensive jars and
pots, especially water pitchers
made to order, making them
with the initial letter of names.
I remember one piece of ware
made in 1825, on one side of
which was purported to be a like-
ness of Lafayette, who was then
the nation’s guest and having
initials of the lady for whom it
was intended on the other.
On some of the ware made by
Mr. Dodge, were attempts at the
likeness of animals and birds in
relief and some modes in the
glazing. Of those in relief the legs
and tails of animals seemed to
have been placed without due
care. A horse would have the for-
ward legs of a giraffe and per-
haps the tail of a cow. Cats had a
severe curl to their tails like the
tail of a nervous dog.
Busts of people received more
care. Most of these were in pro-
file. After the pieces were fin-
ished, they were set in another
room to dry, and it was favourite
A view of the two-piece urn with the
marbled glaze.
[sic] amusement with some bad
boys, whom the good men toler-
ated notwithstanding, to disfig-
ure the human faces by drawing
down the corners of the mouths
to produce a ludicrous expres-
sion. This disfiguring, the potter
did not observe until it was too
late to mend, and it was fired in
the kiln with the others, set away
on the shelf, and sold at reduced
prices.”
The other “discovered” pottery
at the sale was an unmarked
Twentieth Century Chinese
blue vase attributed to the Jug-
town Pottery in Seagrove, N.C.
Aside from being purely a deco-
rative piece with an aesthetic
appeal, these types of objects
retain a fascinating history.
According to an academic the-
sis written by Mary Jean Craw-
ford for the University of North
Carolina in 1962, titled, Jug-
town Pottery: History and
Design, “When the present Jug-
town first began operations in
1917, its output was almost
exclusively the traditional and
utilitarian shapes. But some
years later, Tiffany Studios in
New York, a customer of Jug-
town Pottery, suggested that
they make some decorative piec-
es.”
Chinese pottery found in
museums and libraries in New
The base of the urn, showing how it
was stuck to another object inside
of the kiln. There are other kiln
blemishes on the piece.
Nineteenth Century two-piece red earthenware urn with a
marbled glaze that seems to be related to production from the
Dodge Pottery in Portland, Maine, which is documented in a
paper owned by the Maine Historical Society that was writ-
ten in the 1800s by Portland General Store owner William
Goold (1809-1890). Together with a circa 1920s or 1930s Chi-
nese blue glazed vase were attributed to Jugtown Pottery, in
Seagrove, N.C. Both were recently discovered in an old estate
in Georgetown, Mass. Shown with Alexis Thomas, 10.
York City, especially the Metro- of Jugtown Pottery in the north,
politan Museum of Art, served by setting up a Village Store in
as inspiration, with an emphasis Greenwich Village in New York
of the pottery made during the City in the latter part of 1917,
Han, Tang and Sung dynasties. later located at 37 East 60th
Artist Jacques Busbee (1870- Street. The shop was originally
1947) and Jugtown potter Ben stocked with wares made by
Owen (1904-1983) brought these utilitarian potters in North Car-
unfamiliar shapes to North Car- olina who had their own kick
olina, and ancient pottery made wheels, manufacturing shapes
in China, Persia and Korea pro- familiar to them, although the
vided them with motivation. Busbees decided they wanted to
Crawford additionally says, go beyond this type of inventory.
“The Chinese blue or blue-green The Busbees eventually worked
glaze was Jugtown’s most prized with such potters as J.H. Owen
glaze and, according to one (1866-1923), Charlie Teague
authority, some of the best piec- (1901-1938) and Ben Owen. The
es of Jugtown Pottery, usually marketing efforts of the Busbees
the Chinese translations, had eventually paid off by the time
the Chinese blue glaze. Mr Bus- the Village Store closed in the
bee mixed this glaze, and after late 1920s, with a North Caroli-
his death, his wife Juliana Bus- na business that was thriving,
bee (1876-1962) requested that, drawing the attention of pottery
in memory of her husband, the enthusiasts from all over, and
blue-green glaze not be used on creating a lasting legacy, where
Jugtown Pottery. Ben Owen said Jugtown Pottery is an institu-
only Mr Busbee knew the for- tion for pottery production today.
mula for this glaze.” For additional information,
Juliana Busbee was also www.mcinnisauctions.com or
instrumental in the marketing 978-388-0400.
The lid to the urn as it presently
appears, showing that there was
some gold paint added to it, likely in
the 1800s.