Show & Tell: Rarely Found: A 19th-Century Earthenware Pipkin

8/30/2019 SHOW & TELL | Digital Antiques Journal
SHOW & TELL

Jun 27, 2019 | 0 comments
Rarely Found: a 19th-century earthenware pipkin (1-1/2-minute read)
Justin Thomas
Merriam-Webster’s de nition of the word pipkin is

“a small earthenware or metal pot usually with a
horizontal handle.” This is a rare form to nd from
eighteenth- or nineteenth-century New England
red earthenware production today. In fact, I have
only seen a few New England examples in all of my
travels, which includes museums and private
collections.
So I leapt at the chance to buy one from Justin Thomas’ niece Alexis proudly holding the pipkin
Massachusetts antiques collector and dealer, Gabe

Ficht. I suspect that this pipkin was made in
Massachusetts or elsewhere in northern New England. But I am thrilled to have acquired this rare form in such
a beautiful glaze. Both the pot and the glazing are in wonderful condition with no restoration. And as a bonus,
the lid appears to be original to the pot.
Pipkins are an ancient form of cooking vessel used for cooking over direct heat from coals or a wood re. They
were not held in the ames directly, for that would have risked cracking the ceramic. All pipkins have handles
and many (though not all) had three feet. Late medieval and post-medieval pipkins had a hollow handle into
which a stick handle could be inserted for lifting in and out of the re. Many had small pouring spouts.
Five hundred years after its European ancestors, this New England example shares many of their features.
Source of photos and information: Justin Thomas www.earlyamericanceramics.com
https://antiquesjournal.com/index.php/2019/06/27/show-tell/ 1/9
The newly acquired 19th-century New England Pipkin in

glazed red earthenware
The lid appears to be original
Late medieval European pipkin. Courtesy Bullenwächter – Own work, www.commons.wikimedia.org
New England Baroque (1-1/2-minute read)
Attributed to Thomas Smith (active 1679-1690, New England), Portrait of a Gentleman, 1685, oil on canvas.
The “Baroque” was the dominant style of architecture and painting in the Catholic countries of Europe. How
well did it cross the Atlantic? Generally with limited success, but the artist Thomas Smith bet his livelihood and
his ability that he could produce baroque pictures of New England’s elite.
Thomas Smith is the earliest painter in New England whom we can identify by name. He brought the English
baroque style of portraiture to his clients in the Boston-Salem area. English baroque was not as awe-inspiring
as the fully edged Catholic version, but it did attempt to convey a sense of the sitter’s physicality in three
dimensions by carefully manipulating light and shadow. It is a step forward from the atter, more evenly lit
portraits that preceded it.
We don’t know who Smith’s sitter is in this portrait, but

he was clearly a gentleman – look at his ne, high-style
dress, his gem-studded gold jewelry and silver-headed
cane. An inscription in the upper left corner tells us
that he was 33 years old in 1685 when his portrait was
“taken.”
Even a simple use of light and shadow gives a three-

dimensional presence. Smith’s baroque portraits look
naïve when compared to the realism of the Dutch
masters such as Rembrandt or Van Dyck. Perhaps that
is why the Peabody Essex Museum calls it “English
baroque.”
Rembrandt’s Portrait of Jan Six (1664)
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18 hours ago
Rarely Found: a
19th-century
earthenware pipkin
(1-1/2-minute read)
Justin Thomas
Merriam-Webster's
definition of the
word pipkin is "a
small earthenware
or metal pot usually
with a horizontal
handle." This is a
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8/30/2019 SHOW & TELL | Digital Antiques Journal

SHOW & TELL

Rarely Found: a 19th-century earthenware pipkin (1-1/2-minute read)

Merriam-Webster’s de nition of the word pipkin is

Massachusetts antiques collector and dealer, Gabe

Source of photos and information: Justin Thomas www.earlyamericanceramics.com

The newly acquired 19th-century New England Pipkin in

The lid appears to be original

Late medieval European pipkin. Courtesy Bullenwächter – Own work, www.commons.wikimedia.org

New England Baroque (1-1/2-minute read)

We don’t know who Smith’s sitter is in this portrait, but

Even a simple use of light and shadow gives a three-

Rembrandt’s Portrait of Jan Six (1664)

Scott Antique Market (Atlanta GA)

Petersham Antique and Vintage Shows

View All Events

Sign up for Digital Antiques Journal, our FREE twice-monthly magazine

Museums & Organizations

Antiques Shops & Dealers

You and 19 other friends

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