While visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art last week, I encountered an excellent red earthenware barrel or rundlet that without its inscription, it could easily be mistaken for an object manufactured in New England in the 1800s. Unfortunately, I did not write down the information that it is inscribed with, but it is dated "1793" and made by Philip Anthony (1754-1838) in Kentucky. Interestingly, I wrote about a similar object a few years ago that was also made by Anthony, inscribed and dated "1795."
The museum's interest in this potter's work is likely a result of Anthony being born in Philadelphia in 1754, which is where he possibly learned the potter's trade before migrating elsewhere in America. His marriage record indicates he married Mary Elizabeth Cochran (b. 1767) about 1788 in North Carolina; they were the parents of at least two sons and eight daughters, although, I have not found any evidence to say whether any of his children followed him in the pottery industry. But I would not be surprised to learn if any did. Anthony died on November 4, 1838 in Henderson, Tennessee.
This barrel or rundlet happens to be one of the earliest dated surviving pieces of southern pottery in existence today. And while Anthony did establish a business in Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky as early as this piece is dated, he later founded a longstanding pottery in Nashville, Tennessee.
An Excellent Red Earthenware Barrel or Rundlet from Kentucky
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
No comments:
Post a Comment