I have to admit - that it is fun looking for good North Carolina art pottery in New England, seeing that it is sometimes relatively inexpensive compared to its true value, as well as sometimes being left unidentified in this part of the country. I also think that the artware made in North Carolina during the circa 1920-1970 period (and especially the earliest pottery) is comparable to what was happening in other parts of the country in terms of art pottery production, whimsical sewer tile, post World War II studio pottery and even in places where red earthenware production was still happening like with the Stahl family in Pennsylvania. This is also a nice way to learn about the various types of North Carolina pottery made in the twentieth century.
Nonetheless, among the more desirable colors applied on art pottery and garden wares produced in North Carolina in the 1900s is a malachite glaze, which is a bright copper green glaze with a darkened texture, as well as other variations of the glaze. This type of North Carolina glaze was inspired from ancient Asian design, similar to the chrome red and Chinese blue glazes also produced in North Carolina in the 1900s.
Interestingly, we found this circa mid-twentieth century or so hand-thrown red earthenware strawberry planter yesterday with a malachite glaze just east of Lake Winnipesaukee in a small vintage/collectibe-type group shop in Rochester, New Hampshire. We decided to stop into the shop as we were on our way to hike Mount Major; to my knowledge, this is a rare North Carolina form to find today, especially in great condition.
I believe this pot was made by a member of the Cole family working in Seagrove, North Carolina, circa 1940s-1950s. The pot is unmarked, although it closely resembles some pots attributed to the Cole family in form and glaze.
In fact, there is an unmarked strawberry planter owned by the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove that is decorated with a different glaze, but very similar in form that is thought to have been made at the C.C. Cole Pottery during the 1940s or 1950s. I also suspect that this pot may have originally been purchased with a loose matching glazed underplate or saucer.
Furthermore, strawberry planters were a popular form of production in America and Europe during the late-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century; they were produced at sewer tile factories, various ceramic companies, stoneware companies and even by red earthenware (and terra cotta) businesses.
A 20th Century North Carolina Malachite Glazed Strawberry Planter
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