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Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 11am - 5pm

RIRarities

Antiques, Fine Art, Rare & Unique Finds, MCM, Art Deco, King Louis, Antique Furniture & More!

08/29/2026

A little Saturday restock at the booth. Added a mix of early furniture, folk art, pottery, bronze, primitives and plenty of smalls to dig through.

Fresh finds are now available at Acushnet River Antiques

08/26/2026

Weller Wednesday, with a little sunshine.

This beautiful Weller Fruitone vase seemed far too good to photograph indoors. The glaze comes alive in natural light, moving from soft green into warm russet and earthy brown, with long vertical streaks that give the surface an almost organic quality.

At this point, I’m fairly certain my neighbors think I host elaborate outdoor pottery photo shoots for a living. They’re not entirely wrong.

Weller Pottery, Zanesville, Ohio.

08/25/2026

Every now and then, a piece comes along that reminds you exactly why you collect.

This truly spectacular vessel by William J. Walley (1852-1919) is one of those pieces. Its wonderfully low, balanced form is enveloped in an extraordinary flowing glaze, with brilliant yellow, rich greens and deep earthy browns cascading and pooling across the surface. No two views are quite the same.

Walley established his pottery in West Sterling, Massachusetts, in 1898 and became an important figure in the American Arts & Crafts pottery movement. Trained in the pottery trade in Staffordshire, England, Walley later worked largely as a one-man operation in Massachusetts, producing his pottery by hand and developing a remarkable range of glaze colors and effects. His work shows the influence of the celebrated Grueby Pottery while retaining a distinctly individual character. Examples of Walley’s work are held today by institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Historic Deerfield.

I was fortunate to acquire this piece from a longtime collector, and that is one of my favorite parts of this business. You meet some truly wonderful people in this space, and every now and then one of those connections leads to a truly great piece.

This is certainly one of them.

08/24/2026

Tonight we’re featuring an early Fulper Pottery bowl with a spectacular crystalline glaze, shifting through rich blues, turquoise, and deep mineral tones. The low, broad form gives the glaze plenty of room to show off, with every angle revealing something a little different.

Approximately 10 inches wide and 2¼ inches tall, with an early Fulper mark to the underside.

A beautiful example of the experimental glazes that make early Fulper so compelling.

Available through RI Rarities.

08/22/2026

Big refresh today at the RI Rarities booth at Acushnet River Antiques!

I spent the afternoon completely rearranging the space and bringing in a ton of fresh inventory! Art pottery, lighting, furniture, architectural pieces, art, glass, folk art and plenty more.

The booth is packed and ready for some Sunday antiquing. Come take a look!

08/20/2026

Today we’re featuring a remarkably architectural example of turn of the century tramp art, dating to approximately 1890–1910.

Standing approximately 10 inches tall, this two tier box features a hinged upper compartment, a substantial lower drawer and layer upon layer of individually notched wood. The stepped pyramidal top and deeply dimensional geometric decoration give it an almost sculptural presence.

Created using little more than salvaged wood, small nails and simple hand tools, pieces like this demonstrate the patience and ingenuity at the heart of traditional tramp art. It retains scattered losses, minor breaks and more than a century of honest wear, but remains structurally stable and fully functional.

Now available through Rhode Island Rarities.

08/19/2026

This is an especially fascinating piece of Rookwood history and one whose story came together with some help from the knowledgeable members of a pottery collectors’ group.

Produced by Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati in 1904, this presentation mug is shape 587C and features a beautifully textured matte green glaze with deep crimson floral decoration around its base.

On the front is an Arts and Crafts style emblem incorporating a radiant torch, laurel branches, and an open book bearing the letters “A B C” the emblem of the American Book Company.

The reverse is faintly inscribed:

“H. H. Vail
Compliments of
A. Howard Hinkle
Jan. 1904”

Henry H. Vail and Anthony Howard Hinkle were both prominent figures in Cincinnati’s educational publishing industry. The two had been partners in Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co. and later held important positions with the American Book Company, one of the country’s leading publishers of schoolbooks.

Although the precise occasion for the presentation remains unknown, the inscription, date, and American Book Company emblem give this mug an unusually direct connection to Cincinnati’s publishing history.

The underside bears Rookwood’s impressed flame mark with the Roman numeral IV for 1904, along with shape number 587C.

A special piece combining Rookwood’s celebrated artistry with a remarkably personal piece of Cincinnati history.

Approximately 5 inches tall and 5 inches at its widest.

08/18/2026

Tortoiseshell Tuesday! Today we’re featuring a remarkable English Regency double tea caddy, dating to circa 1820.

Its architectural form is richly veneered in beautifully mottled tortoiseshell, with a sweeping pagoda form lid, classical columns, pale trim and rounded feet. The fitted interior retains two individually covered compartments, originally intended to hold different varieties of loose tea.

During the Regency period, both imported tea and tortoiseshell were highly prized luxury materials. Genuine tortoiseshell is now internationally protected, and surviving antique examples are preserved as records of historic craftsmanship and the decorative traditions of another era.

Nearly two centuries later, the extraordinary natural patterning and ambitious construction remain undeniably striking.

08/17/2026

A cabinet of curiosities filled with antique treasures, from faux tortoiseshell and silver boxes to art glass, folk art, and wonderfully unusual objects collected for their history, craftsmanship, and character.

Available now from Rhode Island Rarities at Acushnet River Antiques.

Address

RI
Smithfield, RI
02828

Opening Hours

Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	11am - 5pm

Telephone

+14013099654

Website

http://RIRarities.Etsy.com/

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