Extremely Rare Small-Sized attrib. Thos Chandler, Edgefield District, SC Stoneware Jug w/ Kaolin Slip Floral Decoration

Spring 2026 Auction of the David & Jongy Ward Collection

Lot #: 14

Estimate: $4,000-$6,000. About Estimates   About Shipping

Minimum Bid: $1,500.

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May 2026 Auction Catalog

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Extremely Rare Small-Sized Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Jug with Kaolin Slip Floral Decoration, attributed to the Thomas Chandler Pottery, Kirksey's Crossroads, Edgefield District, SC, circa 1850, ovoid jug with semi-squared spout and doubly-grooved strap handle, decorated in slip-trailed kaolin slip with a large floral blossom surrounding a series of dashes. Unusual kaolin slip flourish to upper handle terminal. Gray-green alkaline-glazed ground. Among the smallest examples of slip-decorated Chandler stoneware known, this work is described by David Ward as his favorite piece of pottery. The jug's highly unusual notation of a single vertical slash of slip over four horizontal slashes likely refers to the fraction "1 over 4" or "1/4" for one quart. Exhibited/Literature: Great Pots from the Traditions of North & South Carolina, North Carolina Pottery Center, May 6 - July 22, 2017, p. 35 of exhibition catalog; Swag & Tassel: The Innovative Stoneware of Thomas Chandler, McKissick Museum, August 6, 2018 - July 20, 2019, p. 83, pl. 92 of exhibition catalog; Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 8, 2022 - February 5, 2023, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, March 6, 2023 - July 9, 2023, University of Michigan Museum of Art, August 26, 2023 - January 7, 2024, High Museum of Art, February 16, 2024 - May 12, 2024, title page and p. 99, pl. 13 of exhibition catalog. Provenance: Ward remembers visiting Ralph McClendon, Sr., owner of the Pottersville Museum, in the 1980s for a tour of his museum and shop. Afterwards, McClendon excused himself and brought this jug out of his house to show Ward, having kept it there for fear it would be stolen from his museum. Ward was taken with the jug, but believed he would never have the chance to own it. He would, however, purchase it years later at Harmer Rooke Galleries Auction of the Pottersville Museum Collection, March 25, 1995, lot 13. Excellent condition with two tiny spout nicks, retaining a brilliant luster. H 7 1/2".



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