Extremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th century

Summer 2022 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 53

Price Realized: $720.00

($600 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE:  This result is 2 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.

Summer 2022 Auction Catalog

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Extremely Rare and Important Pipe Press and Stoneware Flowerpot, Craven Family, Moore County, NC origin, 19th century, with square-head-nail construction, composed of a pointed dowel with brace attached to a bench. Includes two-part wood-and-metal pipe mold and two wooden tools for forming the pipes. This pipe press was used at the pottery of Daniel Craven (1873-1949), but, based on its square-head nail construction, may have been made and used by an earlier generation of Cravens. According to family history stated in Nancy Sweezy's Raised in Clay: The Southern Pottery Tradition, Craven's wife, Alice (Sheffield) Craven (1875-1962) was responsible for producing stoneware pipes with this press, selling them for 35 cents per hundred (Sweezy, p. 94). Lot includes a stoneware flowerpot made at this site. Literature: Remarkably, this very press is partially pictured in the background of a photo of Charlie Craven in his shop, reproduced on p. 63 of Quincy Scarborough, The Craven Family of Southern Folk Potters. For more information on the Craven family members that used this press, see Sweezy, pp. 93-97. Provenance: Purchased by the consignor from Charlie B. Craven (1909-1991), son of Daniel and Alice Craven. Press in working condition with expected wear. Flowerpot with a 2" in-the-firing crack at rim and a 4 1/2" hairline to midsection. Dimensions (of press): 36" x 12" x 39" ; H (of flowerpot) 7 1/4".

Extremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th centuryExtremely Rare Craven Family Pipe Press, NC origin, 19th century

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