Found in the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama are two great examples of nineteenth century stoneware made by John Frederick Lehman (1824/25-1883) in Randolph County, Alabama. These objects also retain recent histories of twentieth century ownership before they were acquired by the museum.
Born in Germany around 1824-1825, Lehman worked as a stoneware potter in the communities of Bacon Level and Rock Mills, Alabama from about the 1850s or 1860 to the early 1880s. He manufactured a variety of utilitarian stoneware, although he is best known today for his figural jugs and political themed stoneware jars.
The first object is considered by some to be among the most prolific examples of Southern stoneware known today, a political jar made about 1876, likely for the Centennial, which the art museum acquired at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina in 2010 for $74,750, including the buyer's premium. According to the auction house, "Lehman covered the stoneware jar with a Southern alkaline glaze and carefully decorated it with eagles, banners and vines. Just below the shoulder, he fashioned a relief head of George Washington, while the reverse side is adorned with Thomas Jefferson."
A second Lehman political jar also sold in this sale in 2010 that was decorated with sprig molded heads of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson; this jar was taller than the 20 3/4-inch Washington/Jefferson jar by half an inch, but carried a lower estimate of $30,000-$50,000. The auction house further commented, saying, "Perhaps our third and seventh presidents had a bit less cache than presidents No. 1 and No. 3. And the word “Hurrah” in the banner over the heads of Jefferson and Jackson was misspelled as “Hurah.” Nevertheless, the jar was an almost perfect match to the Washington/Jefferson jar."
Interestingly, the couple who bought the second jar traveled to Asheville with a representative of the art museum; after winning it for $32,200, including the buyer's premium, the benefactors told the museum that they would like to live with the Lehman jar for a while before gifting it to the museum.
The Washington/Jefferson jar was also previously exhibited at the Birmingham Museum of Art, as part of an Alabama Folk Pottery exhibit that coincided with the publication of author Joey Brackner's 2006 book, titled, Alabama Folk Pottery: https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/alabama-folk-pottery-at-the-birmingham-museum-of-art/
John Lehman's Political Stoneware Jar Made About 1876
The second object of interest in the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art is a large figural stoneware jug made by Lehman about 1870. This object was found around 50 years ago in DeLoach’s Store in Fayetteville, Talladega County, Alabama for $12, and then for about the next 40 years, it sat in a corner of a room in a house, where it was sometimes knocked over and even often used for coins. The people who owned it for decades had no idea of its significance or value until the family decided to do a little research into what exactly they owned more than a decade ago. The name "J. LEHMAN" were also inscribed on the figure's buttons on the coat. Nevertheless, it was sold to the Birmingham Museum of Art in 2013 for $100,000.
According to author Joey Brackner and Director of the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture, "The acquisition of the John Lehman figural jug, one of only three in existence, is a testament to the commitment of the Birmingham Museum of Art to acquiring and presenting the art of the people of Alabama. Along with enslaved Edgefield potter Dave Drake (ca. 1800-1873), Lehman is the most well known of historical Southern potters. Lehman combined a variety of decorative techniques unusual for the Deep South with the distinctive alkaline glaze for which the region is known. He most likely came to the United States as a refugee of the revolutions in the German states. During his odyssey, he acquired considerable skills as a potter. Lehman’s longest tenure was in Rock Mills, Alabama, where he and his family lived and worked during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Before his death in 1883, Lehman created a series of decorated jars and jugs that have been the source of much excitement and varying interpretation."
Besides this example, a second figural is owned by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, which the museum acquired in 1994. According to the museum, "Lehman’s jug is one of the largest, most vivid and elaborate characterizations on a figural vessel by a nineteenth-century Southern potter. The identity of the African male depicted on the jug is unknown, but the tight-fitting stocking cap and presumably gold earrings combine with a beautifully modeled tie, ruffled shirt, and well-tailored coat to convey a dashing character. Lehman cleverly signed this jug by impressing his own name onto the buttons of the figure’s coat."
For more information - see an article written by Joey Brackner for the Fall 2016 issue of Alabama Heritage, titled, The Search for John Lehman: Art historians work to uncover the life story of one of Alabama's most famous potters: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/extraordinaryfinds/media/filer_public/bd/78/bd78df9b-3d2d-486d-8114-1ca65cf38c72/brackner.pdf.
Note: The Birmingham Museum of Art also owns additional examples of Lehman's stoneware production.
John Lehman's Figural Stoneware Jug
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