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Probably no type of folk art was created in such prodigious numbers as utilitarian objects made of clay. The potter was an important member of every community, and while most of his output was made for hard, everyday use, many potteries also produced fancier, decorated objects intended as presentation pieces or for use on special occasions.
Durable and inexpensive salt-glazed stoneware decorated with cobalt oxide blue slip was made in most parts of New England. The production of commercial stonewares increased as commerce and the Industrial Revolution brought about the wider processing and distribution of foodstuffs, spirits, and agricultural goods. Manufacturers up and down the East Coast placed orders for stoneware jars, bottles, jugs, and larger open-mouthed crocks, and many potteries offered to customize orders with the names of enterprises, various decorative advertising and ornamental patterns, or scenes.
Ceramics were of the strongest decorative arts traditions maintained within the immigrant Germanic populations that settled in Pennsylvania between 1683 and 1850. Both utilitarian and decorative household forms made from the rich local clay deposits were produced by highly skilled potters working in Philadelphia and the surrounding agrarian communities of Chester, Bucks, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Berks Counties from the earliest period of their settlement. Domestic needs and the developing agricultural market economy of the region created a burgeoning demand for utilitarian earthenwares and stonewares, while the maintenance within these communities of earlier European traditions of decorative ceramics used in ceremonial presentation, gift giving, and foodways ensured the survival of a range of highly ornamented, colorful forms.
Although a long-standing tradition of stoneware production existed in Germany, early examples of domestically produced white or gray stoneware are rare in Pennsylvania, and few traditional Pennsylvania German potters are known to have produced stoneware in the region prior to 1830. Only after 1840 were the finer, denser clays necessary to produce stoneware found in large amounts in the regions of York, Greensboro, Harrisburg, and Williamsport, in the south-central area of Pennsylvania. A number of small potteries and larger factories began to produce both plain utilitarian and decorated stoneware forms in these regions after this date, but their output and variety never equaled those of the earlier earthenware pottery traditions of the state.
The potter most often combined his work with other seasonal activities, placing it into the agricultural calendar whenever the craft’s necessary labors could be best accommodated. Local potteries were often operated by a single master potter, who may have been assisted by an apprentice potter, journeymen, or trained family members, depending on the size of the business. Most smaller rural Pennsylvania potteries were able to supply only their immediate vicinity, and few of their products were retailed outside the local markets of nearby towns. Operations were usually passed down from father to son or through intermarriage, preserving not only their marketing position within the community but often the preferred forms, techniques, and decorations.
Pennsylvania German potters employed a relatively limited range of traditional methods in producing their wares. The potter’s wheel was the most common forming method, although early immigrant Germanic potters adopted the use of molds through their interaction with the numerous local English-born or -trained potters. Simple thrown, slab-built, or molded wares could be augmented with surface decoration of appliqués, impressed designs, or, more commonly, the addition of incised sgraffito patterns or “trailed” slip decoration. Slip, or liquefied clay, usually yellow or white, could be mixed with metal oxides to produce greens, blacks, browns, and blues. This slip could be brushed or trailed over a form using a small pouring cup fitted with one or more quill spouts, which produced a fine line or lines of slip. The surface of the form could also be coated evenly with slip of one color and, once dried, scratched through to reveal the contrasting colored clay underneath. This sgraffito technique allowed for precisely drawn figural motifs, dates, or other inscriptions; colored metallic oxides applied as dry powders or slips provided further embellishment. The finished decoration usually received a final clear glaze coating composed most often of red lead, flint, and finely ground silica-rich clay.
Most utilitarian and decorated earthenwares such as these received only one firing in a wood-burning kiln, which could require several days of operation to reach its desired temperature. The updraft kilns used in Pennsylvania varied in form and construction, following the potter’s individual preferences and accumulated knowledge of proper air flow, temperature, and burning and cooling times. Care and familiarity with the firing process prevented the wares from exploding, warping, or melting during the firing and ensured the desired colors from the slips and glazes. The confidence of these early folk potters and the central purposes their wares served for their communities are perhaps best expressed by an inscription found on a number of surviving sgraffito-decorated plates: “From the earth with sense the potter makes everything.”
Probably no type of folk art was created in such prodigious numbers as utilitarian objects made of clay. The potter was an important member of every community, and while most of his output was made for hard, everyday use, many potteries also produced fancier, decorated objects intended as presentation pieces or for use on special occasions.
Durable and inexpensive salt-glazed stoneware decorated with cobalt oxide blue slip was made in most parts of New England. The production of commercial stonewares increased as commerce and the Industrial Revolution brought about the wider processing and distribution of foodstuffs, spirits, and agricultural goods. Manufacturers up and down the East Coast placed orders for stoneware jars, bottles, jugs, and larger open-mouthed crocks, and many potteries offered to customize orders with the names of enterprises, various decorative advertising and ornamental patterns, or scenes.
Ceramics were of the strongest decorative arts traditions maintained within the immigrant Germanic populations that settled in Pennsylvania between 1683 and 1850. Both utilitarian and decorative household forms made from the rich local clay deposits were produced by highly skilled potters working in Philadelphia and the surrounding agrarian communities of Chester, Bucks, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Berks Counties from the earliest period of their settlement. Domestic needs and the developing agricultural market economy of the region created a burgeoning demand for utilitarian earthenwares and stonewares, while the maintenance within these communities of earlier European traditions of decorative ceramics used in ceremonial presentation, gift giving, and foodways ensured the survival of a range of highly ornamented, colorful forms.
Although a long-standing tradition of stoneware production existed in Germany, early examples of domestically produced white or gray stoneware are rare in Pennsylvania, and few traditional Pennsylvania German potters are known to have produced stoneware in the region prior to 1830. Only after 1840 were the finer, denser clays necessary to produce stoneware found in large amounts in the regions of York, Greensboro, Harrisburg, and Williamsport, in the south-central area of Pennsylvania. A number of small potteries and larger factories began to produce both plain utilitarian and decorated stoneware forms in these regions after this date, but their output and variety never equaled those of the earlier earthenware pottery traditions of the state.
The potter most often combined his work with other seasonal activities, placing it into the agricultural calendar whenever the craft’s necessary labors could be best accommodated. Local potteries were often operated by a single master potter, who may have been assisted by an apprentice potter, journeymen, or trained family members, depending on the size of the business. Most smaller rural Pennsylvania potteries were able to supply only their immediate vicinity, and few of their products were retailed outside the local markets of nearby towns. Operations were usually passed down from father to son or through intermarriage, preserving not only their marketing position within the community but often the preferred forms, techniques, and decorations.
Pennsylvania German potters employed a relatively limited range of traditional methods in producing their wares. The potter’s wheel was the most common forming method, although early immigrant Germanic potters adopted the use of molds through their interaction with the numerous local English-born or -trained potters. Simple thrown, slab-built, or molded wares could be augmented with surface decoration of appliqués, impressed designs, or, more commonly, the addition of incised sgraffito patterns or “trailed” slip decoration. Slip, or liquefied clay, usually yellow or white, could be mixed with metal oxides to produce greens, blacks, browns, and blues. This slip could be brushed or trailed over a form using a small pouring cup fitted with one or more quill spouts, which produced a fine line or lines of slip. The surface of the form could also be coated evenly with slip of one color and, once dried, scratched through to reveal the contrasting colored clay underneath. This sgraffito technique allowed for precisely drawn figural motifs, dates, or other inscriptions; colored metallic oxides applied as dry powders or slips provided further embellishment. The finished decoration usually received a final clear glaze coating composed most often of red lead, flint, and finely ground silica-rich clay.
Most utilitarian and decorated earthenwares such as these received only one firing in a wood-burning kiln, which could require several days of operation to reach its desired temperature. The updraft kilns used in Pennsylvania varied in form and construction, following the potter’s individual preferences and accumulated knowledge of proper air flow, temperature, and burning and cooling times. Care and familiarity with the firing process prevented the wares from exploding, warping, or melting during the firing and ensured the desired colors from the slips and glazes. The confidence of these early folk potters and the central purposes their wares served for their communities are perhaps best expressed by an inscription found on a number of surviving sgraffito-decorated plates: “From the earth with sense the potter makes everything.”