Posted 8 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
This is a signed crock made by Thomas Warne. Warne eventually teamed up with his son-in-law, Joshua Letts, to form the now famous pottery firm, "Warne & Letts." (Did not last very long, they in business for less than 20 years).
This piece shows signs of the typical work done by the firm. The brownish-salmon body, and the brown-green incised and painted holly leaf pattern. The applied open-loop handles were also popular. This piece is signed only by Thomas Warne. It is believed that he worked alone before his son-in-law became a partner around 1810. There are also pieces signed only by Joshua Letts. It is thought that he worked alone after the partnership was formed. The duo made a tremendous amount of pottery in many different colors, forms, and sizes (see the following post). This particular piece is in very good condition, no major cracks or chips, just normal wear. It is large, about 14-16 inches tall, and quite heavy. It is absolutely one of my best pieces. I also have two other pieces, not signed, that are attributed to the Cheesequake, NJ potters.
Enjoy!
Oh God, what a beauty you found.
Congrats.
Regards
Alan
Such beautiful handles ... love the dark contrast of the swags surrounding S. Amboy N. Jersy.
alan thanks for the kind words! vetraio, a keen observation! I was talking to this guy I know, he has a few signed W&L pieces, and I bought this piece off him. He was saying that the coloration to the right (the army green/camo green) is what the potters were after. Of course, the inconsistent temperatures in those old kilns made it difficult to achieve the perfect coloration. Overall, they wanted a salmon colored body (the color to the left of the piece), and dark green slip designs, like the holly leaf to the right of the signature.
It is also interesting to me to compare the works of Warne & Letts to the more common New York potters of the time such as Crolius. The pieces made in NYC that we find today are very fine. The coloration is even, the color stays inside the decorative birds and fish that were so commonly incised on the wares. They were able to achieve aesthetic grays and browns on the body of the wares. However, when you look at the works of some of these NJ potters from small "cities" like S. Amboy, South River, Old Bridge, etc. they are less pretty. Many of them have inconsistent coloration, and huge scars to the bodies where kiln furniture stuck to the pieces. The was all because of the materials being used at the time. Potters in the big cities had more money and were able to attain better pottery supplies. Not sure if you saw my next post Vetraio, it shows some other shards I found at the site.
Thanks everyone else for the loves!
now thats out of this world the age the markings on such a utility
vastly important of great historical depth
pride & joy comes to mind fabilus my friend just fabilus
thankin you kindly for sharing bhock
made my early morn 1.18am
all the very best malkey
10:20 pm over here, lol, thanks for your insight man nice meeting you!!!
no problemoe bhock my pleasure meeting such an gentleman brimming with true passion
1.24 am friday 20th april 2018 year
all the very best malkey