Description:
Open mouthed semiovoid jars or pots with thick everted rims served many useful purposes. Pots varying in size from 1/4 to 4 gallon capacity were used for the storage of both soft foods and such things as rice, oats, and barley. These were seldom given matching lids and often were only given an interior glaze. Martin Crafts (1807-1880), the eldest son of potter Thomas Crafts (1781-1761), worked with his father in Whately until late 1833; he left to run potteries in Portland, Maine; Nashua, New Hampshire; and Boston, Massachusetts. In 1857, Martin returned to Whately and ran the Crafts pottery until its close in 1861. There are very few marked examples of redware pottery known to exist from the Crafts potteries in Whately, MA. Another example in Historic Deerfield's collection is a marked redware milk pan made by Justus Crafts HD 2008.18.4. Very large thrown redware pot or jar with side cap handles (similar to those found on stoneware forms), the jar has a straight neck, a large bulbous round form and a flat base; there are incised lines at the neck, shoulder, and the belly; the object is overall brown in color but has some halos of lighter yellow over the surface of the piece; the piece is stamped several times in different locations on the object, on the front of the object, it is stamped "THE PROPERTY/ OF/ MARTIN CRAFTS." and on the reverse "WHATELY./ APRIL THE. L. 1830" and under each handle, "W" and "M.C." on the rim the piece is marked, "MARTIN CRAFTS WHATELY MARTIN CRAFTS WHATELY" On the bottom is the collection number of "161". Ht. 11 1/2" Condition: severe chipping on the body, numerous losses, very fragile, has been conserved. Originally part of the Burton N. Gates Collection. Note card from the Gates papers for this object reads: "161/ Crock without cover: handles. Red clay./ Marked with type impressed: one side: THE PROPERTY./OF/MARTIN. CRAFTS. on reverse side WHATELY/APRIL.THE.L.1830"/ under handle M.C./ W./ Twice on upper rim MARTIN. CRAFTS. WHATELY. Glazed inside and out with transparent glaze. somewhat mottled. Carefully proportioned and decorated with incised rings and ridges. Handles applied. Probably a "masterpiece"/ Col. 1912 on site of old pottery by B.N.G." and then in pencil in another hand, "(See "Den" at "24" 1966-)" At this time we do not know why the date of April 1, 1830, was meaningful for Martin Crafts. For more information on the Crafts Potteries see Henry C. Baldwin, A Guide to Whately Pottery and The Potters, Whately, Massachusetts 1778 to 1873 (2000).
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