Images(6)

Storage Jar

Dateca. 1820

Attributed to Cyrus Cogburn

Attributed to Abraham Massey

OriginAmerica, Georgia, Washington County

MediumAlkaline-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOH: 15 13/16"; OD: 13 1/8” (body).

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The American Folk Art Society

Object number2023.900.6

DescriptionSix-gallon storage jar: bulbous ovoid body rises to tall neck with slightly flared rolled mouth; two squared lug handles applied to the high shoulder, one on each side of the neck; covered allover with a rich alkaline glaze.
Label TextCyrus Cogburn and Abraham Massey were pioneers in the production of early Georgia pottery. Both trained with Abner Landrum in Edgefield, South Carolina, and by 1820 established themselves in Washington County, Georgia, where they applied the Edgefield alkaline-glaze tradition to Georgia's first center of stoneware production. The high collar or neck on this storage jar is a distinctive feature of early Washington County pots.