Petite Exhibit: Rockingham, Bennington, or Yellow Ware: A Pottery Collection

Collectors commonly refer to the mass produced brown glazed yellow earthenware pottery interchangeably with the broad names Rockingham and Bennington. 

Simply put, Rockingham has its roots with Staffordshire potteries in England while Bennington has its roots with northeastern potteries in America.  Discover a sampling of these often overlooked antique objects from the HOF collection on display as a petite exhibit in the National Historic Register Wilson-Warner House.

This mid-19th century common pottery type is unmistakably characterized by its molded relief decoration and mottled and streaked brown manganese glaze.  The unmarked pottery includes utilitarian items such as pie plates, mugs, bowls, pitchers, cow creamers, baking dishes, candlesticks, spittoons, soap dishes, and book flasks, while ornamental items include such items as vases, picture frames, curtain tie-backs, statues, and fireplace mantle animals.  The decorations typically include an assortment of flowers, figures, hunting scenes, and miscellaneous animals within implied landscapes.  Collectors have most coveted the highly prized pair of purely decorative standing poodles with fruit baskets.  Their outstanding feature is the unusual “coleslaw” or shredded clay from a clay extruder which was applied to the front part of the dog.  Many of these are now in museum collections, not including HOF.

Plan to visit the museum to see what’s new and what’s familiar from a prior tour.

This petite exhibit is included with general museum admission.

Illustration from Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, 1853, United States Pottery Company’s Display at the Crystal Palace, New York.