Salt-glazed Stoneware


With a Grain of Salt: Salt-glazed Stoneware in England and North Carolina

 

England Exhibit: May 8, 2007-February 10, 2008 (Levine Gallery)

North Carolina Exhibit: May 8, 2007-February 3, 2008 (Bridges Gallery)

 

Mint Museum of Art

 

 

England (Levine Gallery)

 

In the seventeenth century in Staffordshire, England, the emergence of a large middle class led to a high demand in salt-glazed stoneware. The particular interest in stoneware stemmed from the expensive imports of Chinese porcelain and German salt-glazed stoneware. Staffordshire kilns began making their own pottery affordable to the British middle class and distinctive in its own style.

 

The collection exhibit features teapots, saucepots, snuffer figurines, wall pockets and other types of decorative stoneware. However, each piece is tailored uniquely: some look like small houses, others like squirrels, and others morph into birds or snakes. Decorated with flowers, vines, seashells, and leaves, the stoneware celebrates nature in the cobalt blue painted on many of the pieces.

 

To demonstrate the German influence on the English salt-glazed pottery, sixteenth century German examples are on display. The jugs, pitchers, and tankards are commonly incised with various patterns. The pottery is thicker than the later salt-glazed English stoneware. Many are rimmed with silver gilt to prevent chipping.

 

Teapot

Staffordshire, England

circa 1750

salt-glazed stoneware

 

In Print

 

 

 

 

 

Online Resources

 

 

 

 

 

North Carolina (Bridges Gallery)

 

The tradition of salt-glazed pottery in North Carolina began in the mid-eighteenth century. The potters used the clay from the land to create jugs and pots primarily for utilitarian purposes to serve the needs of the rural farmer in North Carolina. While some are decorated with small fish and some with only the drops of glaze from the kiln, the works are thick and sturdy for storage. Pottery in North Carolina is created in a strong family tradition. The Mint hosts several pieces of pottery spanning generations from different families including works by the Owens, the Coles, and the Teagues. The recognition of the salt-glazed stoneware in North Carolina as an art form has resulted in contemporary potters continuing the aesthetic beauty of the stoneware while maintaining their utilitarian characteristics.

 

Chester Webster 1799-1882

Three-Gallon Storage Jug

Randolf County, North Carolina

1876

salt-glazed stoneware

 

 

In Print

 

 

 

 

 

 

Online Resources

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

 

cobalt blue- powdered oxide of cobalt used to decorate the incised designs of salt-glazed Staffordshire pottery.

 

salt-glazed pottery- a type of pottery produced by adding salt to the kiln once the temperature has reached 1660 degrees. The salt vaporizes and bonds with the silica in the clay to form a glass surface with a texture sometimes compared to orange rind.

 

Seagrove, North Carolina- area known for its history of pottery, located in the Piedmont of North Carolina and including the counties of Randolph, Montgomery, and Moore.

 

snuffer figurines-Included in the salt-glazed stoneware from England, the pottery shaped into tiny people or animals was used for snuffing out candles.

 

Staffordshire- region in England where Stoke-on-Trent (a.k.a. The Potteries) is located. The collection of towns is famous for its production of pottery. All of the salt-glazed English pottery in the exhibit is from this area.