Exceedingly Rare and Important Glazed Redware Jar with Lid, Inscribed "WHM," William Henry Mottern at the Mottern Pottery, Carter County, TN, circa 1860-1880, ovoid jar with footed base, tooled shoulder, thin, flattened rim, and distinctive horseshoe-shaped handles with pointed terminals. Surface covered in a mottled brownish lead-based glaze colored with iron or manganese. Underside incised with the script initials, "WHM," for Carter County, Tennessee, potter, William Henry Mottern. Includes fitting domed lid with a clear lead glaze creating a mottled, buff-to-pale olive surface with iron flecking. This lid, however, is not illustrated with the jar in Wahler's book, Tennessee Turned, so whether or not it is original to the jar is unknown. This vessel is significant for its initialed signature as markings of any kind identifying makers are essentially unknown in Carter County 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 Wahler, Tennessee Turned, Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900, Part One, p. 34, fig. 20 and p. 191, fig. 20. Wahler states the following in her book regarding this jar: "William H. Mottern handwriting on 1910 deed supports attribution" (Wahler, p. 191). Provenance: Originally found in Carter County, TN. Jar with shallow chipping and wear to rim, a shallow chip and wear to each handle, a small in-the-firing contact mark to shoulder, and extremely minor surface wear to body of jar. Lid in excellent, essentially as-made condition. H (excluding lid) 7 7/8".
