NEW YORK – Dedham Pottery was a bit of an outlier. The firm, which was founded in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1896 and lasted until 1943, spurned the matte earth-colored glazes embraced by most of its Arts and Crafts compatriots and instead developed two signature looks that were wildly different from each other. Dedham Pottery’s crackleware and its thick volcanic glazes were acclaimed in its heyday and are still sought after.
Dedham Pottery founder Hugh C. Roberston began making pottery at Chelsea Keramic Art Works in Chelsea, Massachusetts from 1872 to 1889. Not content to just churn out wares that were popular with customers, he was driven to discover the secrets of glazes. He had attended the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and was captivated by the Japanese and Asian ceramics he saw on display. He also would have seen the abundance of Asian ceramics Boston’s elite citizens brought back with them from their travels, many of which ended up in the collections of the MFA Boston and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
Robertson was the son of a Scottish potter who tried unsuccessfully to establish a thriving pottery business in the US. Hugh, aided by his two brothers who were also potters, was the first in his family to build on his father’s legacy. “Hugh Robertson was a great sculptor,” said Dedham Pottery expert Jim Kaufman, who is also the former board president of the Dedham Museum & Archive and remains the museum’s volunteer curator for its collection of Dedham Pottery. Robertson gave up what he was good at – highly decorated ceramics –to “chase some of the clay secrets of the Asian ceramicists,” Kaufman said.
Robertson began experimenting with highly technical finishes and glaze hues that were difficult to master (more on that later), and the efforts proved so costly that he was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1889. By 1896, he had refinanced and opened Dedham Pottery, where he used what he learned at Chelsea to produce simple forms with highly sophisticated glazing.
Dedham Pottery was always a tiny enterprise, but it made a splash in the pottery world with several styles of wares. Its most cherished offering is its crackleware, a high-fired stoneware with a gray-white crackle finish that makes it appear ancient. Cobalt decorations on these pieces ranged from the company’s signature rabbits, which became part of its logo, to other animals such as cats and elephants. Flowers also were standard motifs for Robertson and his small team of decorators.
Even when Dedham Pottery pieces were fresh out of the kiln, they had a hint of antiquity about them, as they resembled centuries-old Asian blue-and-white ceramics. According to Kaufman, Robertson was the first non-Asian potter to intentionally perfect this crackle glaze.
“Blue and white has been, for many centuries, an attractive design combination, and given the variety of designs employed by the Dedham Pottery, it lends itself to being collected,” Kaufman said. “Generally, collectors fall into one of three major categories. They either want everything in the rabbit design, that being a quintessential Dedham design, or they are looking for as many different designs as possible, or they may focus on one particular form – pitchers, a certain sized plate, or a certain sized bowl. The majority of Dedham pottery collectors, in my experience, fall into the second category.”
For many, the introduction to Dedham Pottery comes in the form of rabbits. Few collections would be complete without at least one of its rabbit-themed items. A set of eight pasta bowls featuring a border of crouching rabbits sold for $1,600 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2020 at Lion and Unicorn. Early Dedham items with borders showing left-facing rabbits usually command a premium, however. Less than a dozen have appeared at auction.
Besides the ubiquitous bunnies, Dedham Pottery collectors target unusual patterns and pieces that are missing from their collections, whether they feature polar bears, elephants, or lobsters. The appeal of these wares lies in their combination of technical achievement, seen in the crackle glaze, as well as their whimsical designs, which have universal appeal. An early standout by Robertson boasting his renowned crackle glaze and cobalt decoration checks all the boxes. The circa-1896-1908 vase painted with images of magnolias brought $14,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2023 at Rago Arts and Auction Center. It perfectly embodies what Robertson was able to achieve: taking simple forms and covering them with fine glazing and decoration to create an object that is both modern and traditional.
Frank McNamee, owner of Marion Antique Auctions in Marion, Massachusetts, said Dedham Pottery has always been coveted, and not just in New England. “It still brings good money,” he said. “Rabbits are very common, but the best pieces are the things that have unusual motifs.” An early Dedham Pottery plate with a repeating cat border went out at $3,600 plus the buyer’s premium at Marion Antique Auctions in April 2023. It was consigned by an older collector who liked Dedham Pottery and cats, and it was sold to benefit a local cat shelter. “The cat plate was an extraordinary price for a small piece of Dedham,” said McNamee, who estimates he has sold 300 to 400 pieces of Dedham Pottery during the last 40 years. “Usually, collectors will try to display plates with different motifs – mushrooms on one, elephants on another.”
While nature-inspired designs comprised the bulk of the 50-odd offerings issued by Dedham Pottery, those with historical themes were issued infrequently, making them prizes today. One such example is a 10in Dedham Pottery Mayflower plate, depicting the famous ship seen from its stern. It brought $4,000 plus the buyer’s premium at Eldred’s in April 2023.
In addition to the cobalt tableware that most people associate with Dedham Pottery, Robertson’s so-called ‘experimental’ glazed vases, which have a totally different aesthetic, are cherished by collectors. “Dedham also made art pottery, which doesn’t look anything like the typical things you look at there,” McNamee said. “They had the oxblood glaze on it, and that brings some substantial money.” Indeed, Dedham Pottery was the first American firm to specialize in what it dubbed art pottery. Its lustrous and high-sheen art vases, all hand-thrown and featuring volcanic glazes, have sometimes been likened to Jackson Pollock paintings. A Robertson Dedham Pottery vase with volcanic glaze that is highly textural and mottled in appearance brought $13,000 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2023 at Rago Arts and Auction Center.
Developing glazes was a challenging process for Robertson. His dedication to mastering a deep red oxblood glaze originally known as sang de boeuf, which started appearing on Chinese ceramics in the 18th century, was a white whale for him, of sorts. In 1889, one month after achieving the feat, he was forced to declare the aforementioned bankruptcy and close Chelsea Keramic Art Works. But a group of Boston arts patrons, including Arthur Astor Carey and Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr., helped him his return to business. Their support ultimately led to the birth of Dedham Pottery.
One of Robertson’s oxblood vases, standing a mere 5 ⅜in tall, modestly exceeded its $1,200-$1,500 estimate when it earned $2,400 plus the buyer’s premium at Humler & Nolan in June 2018. While that oxblood vase has an overall red tone, others sported multiple colors, such as a green and red example that realized $2,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2024 at California Historical Design.
Dedham Pottery’s modern-meets-traditional aesthetic helps it harmonize with country Americana collections and suit the tastes of those who collect period formal furniture. From its signature blue-and-white crackleware to its daring volcanic and oxblood glazes, Dedham Pottery has something to please all tastes.
