Images(4)

Storage Jar

Date1865-1885

Attributed to Archibald McPherson (1838-1909)

OriginAmerica, Alabama, Sand Mountain, DeKalb County, Belcher Gap

MediumAlkaline-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOverall: 31.1 x 24.1cm (12 1/4 x 9 1/2in.)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, C. Thomas Hamlin III Fund and Elise Wright in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clay Hofheimer II and in honor of John C. Austin

Object number2015.900.4

DescriptionAlkaline-glazed stoneware storage jar with a two gallon capacity. Thrown pot with fairly straight-sided body, narrowing at shoulders to a tall neck and a wide mouth with a ledge to support a lid, now missing. Strap handles affixed to either side of the pot with the top junction just below the neck of the pot and attached at the lower terminal with pronounced thumb-print indentations. Body covered in a rich brown alkaline glaze and decorated overall with incised wavy lines encircling the pot.
Label TextThe Belcher, McPherson, and Henry families moved to DeKalb County, Alabama at some point in the 1860s and began producing utilitarian pottery at several sites all within walking distance of each other. These potters were particuarly known for a technique called “double-dipping” where they used two types of alkaline glazes on the same piece of pottery.
ProvenancePurchased from: Robert R. Hunter Jr.