A Selection of 19th Century Edgefield, South Carolina Stoneware that Sold at Leland Little Auctions in North Carolina

Additional to yesterday's post about a rare marked circa 1840 slip decorated stoneware jug from Edgefield, South Carolina that just sold, which was recently discovered in a Southern estate, titled, Stoneware Jug Marked "PHOENIX FACTORY / ED : SC," Found in Union County, North Carolina Estate, an excellent selection of Edgefield stoneware also sold last week at Leland Little Auctions in Hillsborough, North Carolina. These objects were consigned from a private collection in Georgia, whereas the highlight of the collection was a stoneware face jug made by an unrecorded potter in Edgefield. Many of the characteristics and the size of this face jug were similar to one that was displayed in the exhibit Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina, which previously sold at Skinner in Boston in 2012 for $56,288 including the buyer's premium. This jug is owned today by the Chipstone Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

According to Skinner, "The jug descended through a Connecticut antiquarian, who collected antiques in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The base of the jug was signed "Aiken, S.C." A late nineteenth or early twentieth century hand-written note was found inside of the jug that was inscribed, "Monkey Jug = made in Bath, S.C. 1862 by negro slaves/Aiken, S.C." 

Furthermore, Stephen Fletcher of Skinner wrote in a 2012 article, "I asked the consignor about her great-grandfather who had collected the jug and written the note. We learned that he had most likely acquired it in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, just a few decades after the piece was made. The fact that he saw fit to acquire this unique example of an African-American face jug shows a developed aesthetic sensibility. The fact the jug survived all this while undamaged is miraculous."

However, aside from the face jug, my favorite object in the sale was a circa 1840 slip decorated stoneware jug that was attributed to Collin Rhodes at the Phoenix Factory along the Edgefield District's Shaw's Creek. This two-gallon jug was decorated with a floral decoration, where it sold for $8,500 plus the buyer's premium.

For the rest of the pottery in this sale - see the auction catalog: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/341952_decorative-art-auction/.

Note: For more information - see a three-page feature story that I wrote for the October 4, 2019 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, Thomas Chandler's Pottery Production: McKissick Museum of University of South Carolina Holds Innovative Exhibition - https://antiquesandauctionnews.net/articles/Thomas-Chandler%60s-Pottery-Production/.

Also see two articles that I posted to this website about the Hear Me Now exhibit when it was displayed in Manhattan and in Boston --

MET Article: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2022/12/now-on-display-at-met-in-new-york-city.html

MFA, Boston Article: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2023/03/now-on-display-at-mfa-boston-hear-me.html

A Selection of 19th Century Edgefield, South Carolina Stoneware

Selection of 19th Century Edgefield, South Carolina Stoneware

The Pitcher Shown Top Left Could Also be from North Carolina

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Leland Little Auctions

19th Century Stoneware Face Jug Made in South Carolina

Reportedly Made in 1862

Descended Though a CT Antiquarian Until the Jug Sold in 2012

Sold for $56,288 at Skinner in Boston in 2012

Stands 4 1/2" Tall

Owned Today by the Chipstone Foundation in Wisconsin
Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston & Marlborough, MA

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