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Bennington

This lidded creamer on an oval base is a fine example of American Rockingham ware, which is the term for cream or yellow ware that has been dipped or splattered with brown glaze before firing. Rockingham was widely produced in the eastern US in the mid-1800s, and some of the best-know pieces were made in Bennington, VT. 

Below are examples from my collection, showing the differences in the coloring that was noted by the National Academy of Art (see below). The shapes and thus the molds seem quite similar, except for one of the creamers in the fourth picture, but no two pieces are identical. Per usual, if some expert can help me more precisely attribute these creamers, I’d be most appreciative.

These creamers should perhaps be more properly termed “American Rockingham” for the coloring and glaze, but they are associated primarily with Bennington, Vermont. Vermont is famous for its cows (more of them than people, they used to brag), and I’m a Yankee by birth, so I’ve chosen to use that term.  I have put these creamers in a theme of their own because, whether they were actually made in Bennington or not (and I strongly suspect they were), they are assuredly early (19c) American pottery, and as far as I know, the earliest cow creamers made on the US side of the Atlantic.

Here are three shots of another example of the form of creamer in the right hand picture above.

The Bennington Museum’s web site notes that “pottery has been made in Bennington since 1785 when Captain John Norton began to produce utilitarian earthenware and stoneware. The Norton pottery grew throughout the 19th century and gained fame for its brilliantly decorated stoneware featuring flowers, birds, and animals. Regular pottery production ceased in 1894, though the company operated as a wholesaler until 1911. The United States Pottery company (1847 - 1858) produced ornamental objects including yellowware with Rockingham and flint enamel glazes, agate and granite wares, porcelain and parian.”  These two potteries are accredited with a prodigious, if relatively short-lived, output of American Rockingham.

The National Gallery of Art’s web site provides good information about the coloring and glaze:

“The nineteenth century was a time of experimentation not only with novel forms, but also with a variety of glazes. Both the Norton and Fenton potteries of Bennington, Vermont, became famous for their "Rockingham" ware. Typically, Rockingham pottery is covered with a mottled brown glaze, made to imitate the tortoiseshell appearance of wares produced at the Marquis of Rockingham's pottery in England. The brown color is part of the glaze itself, which was spattered on the fired clay body. Variations in color were achieved by applying the glaze more heavily in some spots, thinning it in others, and by allowing it to streak. The glazing process permitted random and accidental effects; consequently, no two pieces of Rockingham ware were alike. Although Rockingham ware is associated primarily with Bennington, other American potteries also produced it. The Bennington pieces, at least until 1856, were exceptionally fine in finish because a double glaze technique was used. A glossy underglaze was applied to the clay piece. After an initial firing, the brown Rockingham glaze was spattered on and the piece was fired again. The result was a final glaze effect of extraordinary depth and brilliance.”

For more information go to Old and Sold

Here is what I consider to be a particularly fine example of Rockingham glaze on the most common form of Bennington cow creamer.

This is a beautiful example of yet another form, certainly with Rockingham glaze, and most likely Bennington. It came to me via sellers who got it at an auction in SE Pennsylvania, where it was said to date from the early to mid 1800s. In contrast to the others here, it bears a stylized fly on the lid.