Very Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TN

Winter 2025 Auction of the Carole Wahler Collection

Lot #: 25

Estimate: $1,500-$2,500.A Note About Estimates

Minimum Bid: $350.

An estimate is an expected selling price for an item at auction. The price ranges for each lot are considered conservative in value, and are listed as a courtesy to our bidders to give them an idea of how much they may be expected to pay to win the item. It is entirely possible for an item to sell for less or more than the given estimate.

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Winter 2025 Auction Catalog

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Very Rare Glazed Redware Jar with Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, attributed to the Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TN, 1880, ovoid jar with footed base, heavily-tooled shoulder and applied lug handles with depressed terminals, the lead-glazed surface decorated with a slip-trailed design of a stylized pine tree, flanked by the date, "1880." In her notes, Wahler states the following about this jar: "Jar, attributed to Carter County, Mottern Pottery, Christopher C. Kepler potter. 1870-1890. Kepler was 50 in 1870 living nextdoor to William Mottern 27. George Mottern 57 is nearby. Spelled Kippler in 1880, living with Henry and Matilda Little in Carters Depot. Columbus C. Keepler in 1900 b. 1819 Germany. Calls himself a Crock Maker. Living in the Hyder household. Have information on them. These Carter Co. pieces of slip decorated pottery are the only known in E. TN." Possibly the most published and well-known example of Mottern pottery. Exhibited: Tennessee Turned, Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900, Museum of East Tennessee History, May 16-October 30, 2011. Literature: Illustrated in Moore, "Earthenware potters along the Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee," The Magazine Antiques, September 1983, p. 534, Fig. 9; Illustrated in White, Great Road Style: The Decorative Arts Legacy of Southwest Virginia & Northeast Tennessee, p. 140; Illustrated in Wahler, Tennessee Turned, Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900, Part One, p. 39, pl. 27, p. 192. Provenance: Originally purchased by Marcus King at an auction in Jonesborough, TN in the early 1970s from a small antiques shop that was going out of business. Professional restoration to scattered exfoliation and a rim chip. Unrestored shallow chipping around base, wear to handles, and a few shallow chips to rim. An unrestored 5" hairline to far left side of jar's front. Unrestored exfoliation to interior. H 11 1/2".

Very Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TNVery Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TNVery Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TNVery Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TNVery Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TNVery Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TNVery Rare Redware Jar w/ Manganese Slip Foliate Decoration, Dated 1880, att. Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TN

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