Images(11)

Storage Jar

Dateca. 1854

Attributed to John W. Seigler

OriginAmerica, South Carolina, Edgefield District, Shaw's Creek

MediumAlkaline-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOH: 15 1/4"; OL: 13 5/8".

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, C. Thomas Hamlin III Fund

Object number2022.900.1

DescriptionStorage Jar: Ovoid shaped body rises to short neck rising to a rolled rim; lug handles are applied to the high shoulder; the base shows evidence of a repair or patch made to the clay body after it was dried, but before glazing and firing; a drippy alkaline glaze is applied over the entire object except the base.
Label TextIn 1853 just outside Edgefield near Eureka, John Seigler purchased a pottery formerly owned and run by Collin Rhodes on Shaw’s Creek. Not a potter himself, Seigler served as the proprietor and employed many skilled hands including numerous free and enslaved black potters. While all of their names are unknown to us today, 19th century documents and early 20th century oral histories testify to the scope of the pottery and the many skilled free and enslaved black laborers involved, especially as turners. Census documents list the occupation of free blacks such as Thomas Jones as “in Jug Factory.” This finely potted jar with its stunning glaze is a testament to the skill and artisanship of those craftsmen, named and unnamed.