Last week while in Tennessee with the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts I had the pleasure of going to the Tennessee State Museum and seeing the shop items from the Charles Decker pottery shop from the Keystone Pottery in the Nolichucky Valley of Tennessee. The pottery operated in the last quarter of the nineteenth-century into the early twentieth-century. The photo above is of the wooly bunch from the Decker pottery, with Charles Decker pictured in the upper right at the wheel.
Items from the shop of Charles Decker
This photograph below is of the pottery shop at the Decker pottery. The chimney coming out of the center of the building is the kiln!
Photograph of the pottery shop and kiln
This wheel below was used at the Decker pottery and was left in the shop. Luckily it was salvaged and donated to the museum.
Pottery wheel used at the Decker pottery
Here are some tools below that were used in the shop and found at the shop. I was told that the edges fit many of the Decker pieces in the collection.
Ribs and molds used at the Decker pottery
Ribs and molds used at the Decker pottery
These amazing pieces below were made by Charles Decker, Jr. They are advertising pieces that were placed in the yard. I was told by the registrar at the museum that when they were found they were covered in grass and vines and still sitting in the yard as they had been for the previous 100 years or so. Check out this site for more information on the Decker's and their pottery.
Stoneware advertising monuments
Tomorrow I wrap up the Summer Institute at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts with a presentation on my project looking at three pieces of Kentucky stoneware. I'll try to get some photos up and share what I have learned about these pieces in the coming week!
"Warrented to be Ston Ware" was scrawled across the side of a large piece of pottery which I had the pleasure of seeing this past weekend in Tennessee. I had the chance to visit the Museum of East Tennessee in Knoxville where they have an exhibition entitled "Tennessee Turned: Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee, 1800-1900." I was unable to take photos inside of the exhibition, but want to share some photos from an article by Antiques and the Arts. On many of the earthenware pieces, and some of the stoneware pieces were these amazing, gargantuan handles which I was particularly enamored with.
Courtesy, Antiques and the Arts
The manganese on the earthenware pieces was very glittery, which made me wonder whether there is a high percentage of mica in the manganese, or whether there is another mineral which creates that look. The stoneware pieces were not only beautiful, but some of them were jaw-dropping. Particularly, the water coolers fascinated me including this piece made by T.W. Craven and Co., a branch of the Cravens from North Carolina who relocated to Tennessee.
The Germanic pieces with lush decorations certainly had my eye and it was love at first sight.
These pieces reminded me a lot of New York and Connecticut pieces, so I am intrigued to learn more about the history of these potters. I was told that Carole Wahler, who curated the exhibition, is working on an exhibition companion to be published at the end of the month. In the meantime, I might have to start writing "Warrented to be Ston Ware" on the sides of some pieces!
This is a great video from Antiques and the Arts highlighting other pieces from the exhibition. Enjoy!
