Rare 5 Gal. G. N. Fulton, Alleghany County, VA Stoneware Churn w/ White Slip Decoration

Spring 2020 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 245

Price Realized: $2,400.00

($2,000 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 4 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.

Spring 2020 Auction Catalog

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Very Rare Five-Gallon Stoneware Churn with Kaolin Slip Decoration, Signed "G.N. Fulton," George Newman Fulton, Alleghany County, VA, circa 1875, ovoid churn with flared collar, extruded lug handles, and unusual tooled banding to the base as well as the shoulder; decorated in whitish kaolin slip on the front with a band of foliate decoration above a freehand "5" surrounded and underscored by swag designs. Base inscribed in kaolin with the large freehand signature, "G.N. Fulton," above a series of large swags. While Fulton's decorations were typically applied in manganese-dioxide or cobalt-oxide slips, this churn features a highly unusual slip decoration executed in kaolin. While the use of white slip decoration is common in American redware and is also observed in the stoneware industry of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, this churn is the first example by Fulton to be documented featuring this type of decoration. Evidently, he was attempting to produce his slip-decorated stoneware in a third color scheme. Some light, fine-grained exfoliation to right side of churn's front. A rim chip on reverse. Other small rim chips. Some vertical lines to interior body, one of which is visible on the front of the churn, measuring approximately 4" on exterior.