Exceptional Copper-Decorated Redware Jug attrib. Christopher Alexander Haun, Greene County, TN, c1840-1860
Winter 2025 Auction of the Carole Wahler Collection
Lot #: 32
Estimate: $1,000-$2,000.A Note About Estimates
Minimum Bid: $250.
Exceptional Copper-Decorated Redware Jug, attributed to Christopher Alexander Haun, Greene County, TN, circa 1840-1860, finely-potted, highly-ovoid jug with tooled shoulder, coved spout molding, and broad, heavily-ribbed strap handle, the lead-glazed surface lavishly-decorated throughout with large copper runs against a light-orange ground. Beautifully-glazed with dramatic copper application in the Haun style, this jug is also noteworthy for its extraordinary, seven-ribbed handle, which measures 2 5/8" wide. The jug's refined potting and colorful glaze led it to be chosen for the cover of Wahler's book, Tennessee Turned, Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900, Part One. Exhibited: Tennessee Turned, Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900, Museum of East Tennessee History, May 16-October 30, 2011. Christopher Alexander Haun (1821-1861) was a Union sympathizer during the Civil War who, on November 8, 1861, participated in the burning of a Confederate railroad bridge along Lick Creek in Greene County, Tennessee. Convicted of treason and hanged by the Confederacy, Haun left behind a moving letter to his wife, Elizabeth, instructing her to have fellow potters "fishing off [his] ware ... for [her] support." Haun is regarded today as Tennessee's most gifted potter and revered as a man of principle who died for the Union cause; more about this remarkable figure in the history of American ceramics is available in our description for Lot 29. Literature: Illustrated in Wahler, Tennessee Turned, Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900, Part One, cover, p. 70, fig. 70, p. 201, and p. 230, pl. 15. Large lower section of handle missing. Flakes throughout. Significant cracks to front and sides. Base with some flakes and a few small chips. A minor chip to top of spout. H 15".
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