Lot #: 194
Price Realized: $240.00
($200 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)
PLEASE NOTE: This result is 3 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.
Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Handled Jar, attributed to Rich Williams, Gowensville area, Greenville County, SC late 19th or early 20th century, semi-ovoid jar with flared rim and applied handle, the surface covered in a streaky blackish alkaline glaze. Williams is distinguished as one of a few African-American potters to own his own pottery or mark his ware with his own maker's mark. A picture of Williams turning a jug in his shop, illustrated on p. 89 of Cinda K. Baldwin's Great and Noble Jar, is regarded as the only period photo of an African-American potter at work. According to Baldwin, Williams is listed in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census as a farmer, age fifty, living in the Gowensville area of Greenville County, SC and owning a farm. Baldwin notes that Williams is possibly related to freed black Edgefield potter, Milage Williams, who is listed in the 1880 Census as living in Shaw's Creek Township, Aiken County, SC. CONDITION UPDATE: Handle broken into pieces and reglued, with coloring along breaks. In-the-firing bloated spots to surface. A few short lines to underside. H 9 1/2".
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