Images(2)

Storage Jar

Date1820-1840

Maker Cain Pottery Manufactory

OriginAmerica, Tennessee, Sullivan County

MediumLead-glazed earthenware (redware)

DimensionsOverall: 34.3 x 28.6cm (13 1/2 x 11 1/4in.)

Credit LineGift of Mary Jo Case

Object number2015-191

DescriptionLarge ovid-shaped lead-glazed earthenware storage jar with two pulled handles, one on either side of the pot and attached at the top of the shoulder and everted rim. Splashes of black/iridescent slip across the surface. There is a narrow area on the exterior just above the base that is unglazed. There is a large puddle of glaze on the bottom of the base.
Label TextSeveral members of the Cain family including the patriarch, Leonard, and his sons, Eli, William, and Abraham, were potters working in Sullivan County, Tennessee. Leonard may have trained during his time in Wythe County, Virginia. Shortly after he moved to Tennessee he began an earthenware pottery making utilitarian vessels like this storage jar. Like many potters in 19th-century America, the Cains appear to have supplemented their income with farming. Pots made at the Cain pottery were intended to serve the functional needs of the local community, but their orange clay bodies were frequently ornamented with splashes of manganese to excellent effect.
ProvenancePurchased by Mary Jo Case from a member of the Harr Family in Sullivan County, Tennessee. The Harr family married into the Cain family.

Exhibition(s)