Pottery: Earthenware, Stoneware & Redware Traditions
Pottery, in the strictest sense, refers to ceramics made from earthenware and stoneware clays fired at lower temperatures than porcelain, encompassing everything from ancient utilitarian crocks to refined decorative wares. For collectors, the most active pottery categories include American redware and stoneware, English slipware and Staffordshire figures, European faience and majolica, and Asian earthenware traditions. Pottery predates porcelain by thousands of years and offers collectors an enormous range of objects, periods, and price points.
Major Categories
American Stoneware
- Salt-glazed stoneware (1720s-1900s): Utilitarian crocks, jugs, and jars with cobalt blue decoration; produced throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
- Key makers: Bennington (Vermont), Edmands, Norton, Cowden & Wilcox, and numerous regional potteries
- Decoration: Cobalt blue brushwork, slip-trailed designs, and stenciled patterns; birds, flowers, deer, and patriotic motifs
American Redware
- Date range: 17th-19th centuries; lead-glazed earthenware from Pennsylvania German and New England traditions
- Decoration: Slip-trailed designs, sgraffito (scratched through slip), and manganese splotches
- Forms: Plates, bowls, pie plates, jugs, loaf pans, and figural pieces
English Pottery
- Staffordshire figures: Flat-back chimney ornaments, animal figures, and portrait busts (1840s-1900)
- Slipware: Trailed and combed slip decoration on earthenware; Toft and other 17th-century makers
- Mocha ware: Dendritic (tree-like) decoration on utilitarian mugs and bowls
Auction Price Ranges
| Item | Low | Mid | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stoneware crock (plain) | $20 | $75 | $200 |
| Stoneware crock (cobalt bird) | $200 | $800 | $5,000+ |
| Stoneware jug (elaborate scene) | $1,000 | $5,000 | $50,000+ |
| Redware plate (slip-trailed) | $200 | $800 | $5,000 |
| Sgraffito redware plate | $2,000 | $10,000 | $100,000+ |
| Staffordshire figure (common) | $50 | $200 | $800 |
| Mocha ware mug | $100 | $400 | $2,000 |
Condition Factors
- Stoneware chips on rims and bases are extremely common and modestly affect value on utilitarian pieces
- Cobalt decoration must be crisp and well-defined; faded or blurred decoration reduces value
- Redware is fragile due to soft, porous body; intact examples are increasingly rare
- Lead glaze on redware should be examined for flaking, which exposes the clay beneath
- Staffordshire figures frequently have chipped bocage (foliage) and repaired limbs; examine under UV light
- Hairline cracks in stoneware are less damaging to value than in porcelain due to the category's utilitarian nature
Collecting Tips
- American stoneware with elaborate cobalt decoration is one of the strongest American antiques markets
- The most valuable stoneware features unusual subjects: political figures, buildings, ships, and human faces
- Pennsylvania German redware, especially sgraffito plates, is among the most important American folk art; museum-quality examples bring extraordinary prices
- Staffordshire figures are well-documented; reference books by Pugh and Harding help identify subjects and rarity
- Regional attribution matters for stoneware: documented pieces from specific potteries bring premiums over unattributed examples
- Mocha ware has experienced significant price appreciation; the best examples rival fine porcelain in value