A Good 20th Century Stoneware Teapot From North Carolina Found in the Boston Area

It's not everyday that I come across twentieth century North Carolina pottery in New England, but I have found a few good pieces lately, including this circa 1930 hand-thrown stoneware teapot in basically as-made condition that we found today in the Boston area, made by master potter Ben Wade Owen Sr. (1904-1983) in Seagrove, North Carolina. It is marked on the base "Jugtown Ware." I think it's an excellent early example of Owen's work, where the Jugtown Pottery represents one of the last traditional potteries still producing wares in the South.

Interestingly, among the decorative characteristics that I noticed about this teapot is the manner that the cobalt was applied, which is similar to earlier types produced in places like Philadelphia and Baltimore in the 1800s. The teapot form is also one of the last utilitarian shapes produced by any potter in North Carolina.

According to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, "Owen learned to turn clay from his father, potter and farmer Rufus Owen (1872-1948), and by age 16, he was a proficient potter who produced lead-glazed utilitarian earthenware for his father and for neighboring shops.

In 1923, Owen was hired as the second known potter to work at the newly built Jugtown Pottery. Under the guidance of Jugtown founders Jacques (1870-1947) and Juliana Busbee (1876-1962), Owen developed a classic pottery style that blended old and new forms, incorporating the principles of restraint and simplicity inherent in both native folk and Oriental traditions.

Owen was the sole potter at Jugtown from the early 1930s until 1959, when he left to found the Old Plank Road Pottery. He produced the same forms and glazes until his retirement in 1972. His son and grandson revived his work, opening Ben Owen Pottery to produce pottery based closely on his unique style.

Owen’s work has been widely exhibited across the state, nation and world. His pieces can be found in the permanent collections of the Mint Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre, among many other museums.”

Here is a link to an article published about Jugtown Pottery in the Spring/Summer 1947 issue of The E.S.C. Quarterly (Ben Owen is pictured): https://archive.org/details/escquarterly00nort/page/n65/mode/2up?view=theater

20th Century Stoneware Teapot From North Carolina Found in the Boston Area

My Niece Alexis Holding the Stoneware Teapot

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20th Century Stoneware Teapot with Cobalt Decoration

Made by Ben Owen Sr. in Seagrove, North Carolina

Circa 1930

The Base is Marked "Jugtown Ware"

Just Discovered in the Boston Area Surviving in Basically As-Made Condition

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Another View of the Teapot

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View of the Handle

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Another View of the Teapot

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Another View o the Teapot

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View of the Base with the "Jugtown Ware" Mark

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Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...