EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A 19th Century Southern Stoneware Mug with what Appears to be a Philadelphia Influence in Form and Decoration

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

A 19th Century Southern Stoneware Mug with what Appears to be a Philadelphia Influence in Form and Decoration

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about Charles F. Decker, an important nineteenth-and-twentieth-century southern potter (mostly) from Tennessee ; whereas, today I would like to briefly continue that discussion. According to the book, 'The Pottery of Charles F. Decker: A Life Well Made,' "Charles F. Decker, like millions of other immigrants, gave up the land of his birth and came with his family daring to find a better future in the United States. The path he took has left Tennessee with some lasting treasures. He began a lifelong career while still in his teenage years working with a potter in Philadelphia. By the time he was twenty-five he had established his own 'Keystone Pottery' in Philadelphia in 1857. Subsequent moves carried him to Delaware, Virginia, and Tennessee, where he chose to settle along the Nolichucky River in Washington County.

The types of wares Decker produced come in an amazing variety, from common unglazed drain pipes and paving bricks, through utilitarian jars, pots, bowls, churns, and jugs, to more unusual items such as vases, bottles, banks, horns, chimney tops, funnels, and ultimately highly decorative pieces such as yard ornaments, tombstones, past caps, flower stands, and personalized pieces, Many of these styles, forms, and colors are particularly common to Pennsylvania, which obviously influenced Decker.

Decker created his business to meet the needs of his family, and four of his children joined him in working as potters until Decker's death on March 11, 1914. The pottery grew over the years from a family business to a small industry with up to twenty-five employees. The area of service expanded to cover eastern Tennessee as well as part of Kentucky, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia."

Nonetheless, a late-nineteenth century stoneware mug, which is attributed to Charles F. Decker's production in Chuck Valley, Tennessee will be sold in Crocker Farm's upcoming sale this March in Maryland. The auction house describes it as a "very-rare small-sized stoneware mug with cobalt spot decoration, attributed to Charles F. Decker's Keystone Pottery in Chuck Valley, Tennessee during the circa 1880-1905 period."

What struck me about this object is the form, the spot decoration and the cobalt decoration on the handle; whereas, all of these characteristics are also reminiscent to a red earthenware mug that has been recently handled by two prominent antique dealers.

The beautiful slip decorated red earthenware mug, which I am referencing and shown below is reportedly attributed to Philadelphia in the nineteenth century. The way that this mug was produced forces me to consider the fact that the decoration and the form found with the stoneware mug that Crocker Farm has been consigned is a result of Decker's Philadelphia background.

Charles F. Decker Attributed Stoneware Mug
Keystone Pottery, Chuck Valley, TN