Connecticut Kilns and North Carolina Connections

Me holding a piece of kiln furniture from the Connecticut kiln site. Private collection.

I have been on the road for the last few days looking at a kiln collection in Brooklyn, New York and just today seeing a collection from a kiln site in Bloomfield, Connecticut. While I work on permissions for sharing photos from the Brooklyn site, I am very excited to share photos from my Connecticut visit.

Decorated bottle fragment from Bloomfield, Connecticut site. Private collection.

If you might remember from late last year, I posted about my visit to the Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville, North Carolina to see a collection from a kiln site explored there. The potters who operated that early kiln were originally from Connecticut. The reason why this kiln site in Connecticut was so incredibly exciting (in a nerdy sort of way) was the fact that so much of the kiln furniture was so similar to the North Carolina material. Connecticut connections!

Mark on bottom of jug fragment showing where kiln furniture was. Private collection.

Piece of kiln furniture with mark showing where the edge of a piece rested on top of it. Private collection.

How the jug would have sat on the bar-shaped piece of kiln furniture. Private collection.

Like the North Carolina kiln site where I speculated about how the bottles were stacked, this kiln site in Connecticut showed signs of similar bottle stacking methods. Like the North Carolina kiln furniture, there were round marks left on the bar-shaped kiln furniture which was shaped in the same fashion as the North Carolina kiln furniture:

Round marking left on kiln furniture. Note the pinched middle, similar to the North Carolina kiln furniture. Private collection.

Round mark and part of a bottle neck left on a bar-shaped piece of kiln furniture. Private collection.

The necks and handles of the jug fragments from the Connecticut kiln site also showed the same signs as the North Carolina kiln site that the bar-shaped kiln furniture rested across the top of the neck and handle.

Jug neck showing marks left from the kiln furniture. Private collection.

Jug neck and handle showing mark left and part of a piece of furniture. Private collection.

And, as usual, kiln floors and sections of the kiln are always exciting to see. There were several chunks of the kiln including this beautiful piece of what I think was a wall, with an incredible amount of melting and running:

Section of the kiln. Private collection.

It has been a great trip, I will try to get more up in the coming weeks and don't forget, if you're interested in Virginia earthenware, the 2012 Virginia Decorative Arts Seminar will be focusing on the topic and I will be presenting along with a great lineup of speakers next weekend! Check out the schedule and be sure to come!

Ackland Exhibition

If you have a chance before March 20th, go to the Ackland Art Museum to see the exhibition entitled "Tradition in Clay: Two Centuries of Classic North Carolina Pots." I went on Thursday to see the exhibition and also had the privilege of seeing Daniel Johnston make a presentation on his work. He showed a sneak preview of the video made during his Large Jar Project.

Daniel Johnston presenting

After the presentation I went through the exhibition and was excited to see such a range of pieces.

The openess of the exhibition space was exsquisite

I liked the layout of the exhibition. It was in two rooms, with one room being a combination of salt-glazed and alkaline-glazed wares from all across the state. I thought this was beneficial because it showed that both of these techniques were in use at the same time in different regions. The pieces in this room were mostly from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As the exhibition progressed in this room there was a transition of glazes and forms which led into the second room showing the movement of art pottery in the twentieth-century and the rise of regions like Seagrove and the establishment of Jugtown Pottery.

All of these pieces are from the Fox family, dated range from 1840-1870. I liked the austerity of the displays with just the pieces with a muted background and open pedestals

Handle of an Enoch Craven bottle, ca. 1850

Of course I was mostly drawn to the nineteenth and early twentieth-century pieces, and spent a great deal of time looking closely at handles and decorative markings. I have an affinity for ovoid bottles, and there was no shortage of these!

Bottle from the Webster pottery, dated 1875

Side of large storage jar attributed to John Craven, ca. 1850

Interior of large storage jar attributed to John Craven. It was nice to be able to get close the pieces and see the inside of them and see the details. I may have looked a little strange kneeling so close to the pieces and hovering above the pedestals!

Bottle by William Henry Hancock, 19th century

Handle detail on Hancock bottle

In closing, if you have a chance, I highly recommend going to see the exhibition and having the chance to take a closer look at North Carolina pottery.

Top of Nicholas Fox bottle, ca. 1840