This is one of the most colorfully glazed pieces of nineteenth century stoneware that I have ever handled! Recently discovered just north of Detroit in Michigan, this one gallon alkaline glazed stoneware handled pot is really something else and it survives in excellent condition! I had thought this was possibly a Southern pot, but I really have no idea where it was made, other than it originating in the 1800s.
Among the characteristics that are noticeable about this object are the two distinct glazes found on the exterior and the interior of the pot - and among the reasons why I had thought this was perhaps a piece of Southern stoneware is because of what I think is a greenish toned alkaline glaze on the interior.
According to the booklet, Southern Folk Pottery at Pebble Hill, "The alkaline glaze for stoneware was first developed in Asia and its introduction into American ceramics is a topic of great interest and debate. The glaze is made of wood ashes or lime-sources of alkaline flux-and sand. Most scholars believe the Southern use of the alkaline glaze began in the Edgefield District of South Carolina just after 1809 when Dr. Abner Landrum (1785-1859) found a source of high quality clay there. Landrum and his potters learned to use this glaze either from printed sources about Asian ceramics, communications with other potters who were trying to replicate Far East glazing, or perhaps a trip Landrum reportedly took to visit potters in Philadelphia who may have been experimenting with the alkaline glaze."
Furthermore, Southern alkaline glazes are durable, shiny transparent glazes that exhibit a range of surface colors, including olive green, yellowish green and dark to pale brown, depending on the presence of minerals, particularly iron, in the glaze and the paste, as well as kiln conditions. Alkaline glazed vessels also show a range of surface textures, with some vessels relatively smooth in texture, while others exhibit streaks and runs of glaze. Small grains of sand-like material may be visible in the glaze. On alkaline glazed vessels, the same glaze almost always occurs on both the interior and exterior. There were many different regional names for these glazes, which were used from North Carolina south and westward to Texas.
Another characteristic that I noticed about this pot is the gray color of the clay, which is the color found with much of the stoneware made in America. And the the wire cut base with how the pot was removed from the wheel is another technique found with American stoneware.
However, this pot also has some similarities to nineteenth century French stoneware and possibly other manufacturers in Europe, but I have never seen the use of an alkaline glaze like that seen on the interior with any European pottery.
Does anyone reading this have any ideas? Could it be American? Could it be European?
A 19th Century Stoneware Pot with a Greenish Toned Interior Glaze
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