Art Institute of Chicago

Jar

Edward William Farrar (American, 1808-1845)

Date

c. 1830

Medium

Earthenware and glaze

Culture

Middlebury

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Stamped with the name of its maker, Edward William Farrar, this jar thought to be the earliest marked example of Vermont redbodied earthenware (redware). Typically, early Vermont potters of the early 19th century favored stoneware which they produced with clay shipped up the Hudson River from New York pits. Some, including Farrar, continued to work with locally sourced red clay. Descended on both sides from potters, Farrar learned his craft from his father in Middlebury. This jar exhibits a stamped signature on its die, and has atypically elaborate decoration: stamped bands of geometric design contrast with the curves of the green glazed swags and rows of pinched ruffles around its neck.

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