COLLIN RHODES (1811-1881) SOUTH CAROLINA, 19TH CENTURY

The inscription, glaze and shape of the present lot not only provide information pertinent to identifying its geographic origin and time period, but provide an opportunity to begin pinpointing a specific factory of production. Edgefield pottery produced by African-American slaves in South Carolina in the 18th and 19th centuries offers a glimpse into an innovative production center of utilitarian stoneware vessels for everyday use. The particular ovoid form seen here, was a typical shape for a jug which would have been used for storage on local farms - the 3 at the beginning of the description most likely designates the jug's capacity (3 gallons). While the potter of the present lot did not, and may not have been given permission to, mark the piece with his own name, he did identify the owner of factory and region he worked in. Here the slip inscription C. Rhodes refers to one of the main entrepreneurs in Pottersville: Collin Rhodes (1811-1881). He was known to be involved in various business partnerships in the district starting in 1832. Around 1843 he finally owned a pottery of his own: Collin Rhodes Factory. The present jug was most likely produced during the time in which Collin Rhodes Factory was open for business. Factory owners wanted it to be obvious from which workshops these skillfully thrown and expertly glazed stoneware pieces came from. The inscription on the present lot also points towards the spread of the alkaline stoneware production which originated in South Carolina across the rest of the Southern states as it specifically distinguishes Edgfield district and the state S.C. (Cinda A. Baldwin, Great and Noble Jar, Traditional Stoneware of South Caroline, Georgia, 1993).