We also found three pieces of North State Pottery over the weekend, one of which was discovered in a small shop along the Mid-Coast of Maine on Saturday -- and the others we found in shops while driving home from the Boston area yesterday, one of which I think is an excellent object!
Like the Jugtown Pottery, the North State Pottery was founded by entrepreneurs who appreciated pottery, but were not potters themselves. North State Pottery was the creation of Rebecca Palmer Cooper and her husband Henry who came to the Seagrove area in the early 1920s. Henry Cooper had been employed by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in nearby Winston-Salem. The first turner they hired was Jonah Owen (1895-1966), who worked for them for several years (1924-1926). Jonah was an accomplished turner by that time and Henry Cooper contributed to the art pottery movement by the development and creative use of new glazes and multiple glaze applications. Some of the most sophisticated wares of the transition period were produced at North State Pottery. The early pieces might be unsigned or later the maker indicated by the North State stamp of which there were three.
Walter H. Owen (1904-1981), Jonah’s brother, came to work for North State Pottery in 1925 and was the potter there until 1948 when Henry Cooper died. Other local potters, many of them related to each other and named Owen or Owens, also worked there.
For sheer variety of early glazes, North State was more successful than any Seagrove pottery. One can see an infinite variety of color combinations and many of the double glazed pieces are truly remarkable.
The first two pieces shown were found just north of Boston and stamped on the bottom with North State Pottery’s circa 1925-1939 second stamp, “North State Pottery Co. / Hand Made / Sanford N.C.” The Asian inspired vase is just outstanding and certainly an example of North State's double glaze, decorated in a dripping chrome red and black volcanic glaze. I feel it’s really a piece of art!
The small creamer is also nice having been decorated on the exterior with a black glaze, while the interior is covered in a green glaze.
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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