Rare Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Ring Jug, attributed to William Horne at the Jesse P. Bodie Pottery, Kirksey's Crossroads, Edgefield District, SC, second half 19th century, hollow, ring-shaped form with applied semi-squared spout, the surface covered in a glossy, olive alkaline glaze. The following letter, written in 2002 to David from the jug's previous owner, John Franklin Devore, Jr., describes its maker and various owners: "The ring jug that I sold to David Ward in 1999 was passed down in my family, and I was always told it was made by my great-grandfather, W.H. Hahn, at the pottery on Highway 225 south of Greenwood, SC, near Kirksey's Crossroads. . . I was told that W.H. Haun gave the ring jug to his son-in-law (my grandfather) James Brantley Devore (1870-1946) upon his marriage to Hahn's daughter, Mary Ann Hahn. The jug passed on to my father, John Franklin Devore (1906-1984), and then to me upon his death. . . As a small boy (I was born in 1931) I recall going down Highway 25 south of Greenwood with my grandfather who pointed out the location of the pottery as being on the right side of the road just before getting to Kirksey's Crossroads. Many years later I saw some young college students from Lander college digging at the site (1963, I think), and stopped and talked to them. They showed me many broken pieces of pottery that had the same color and glaze as the ring jug. . . I remember when I was a small boy that my grandfather would enter the jug in the county fair in Greenwood, and it won a number of ribbons in the late 1930's or early 1940's. Also, the jug hung on a peg in my grandfather's hallway at his house not far from where I now live. . . I have been recently told there is no record of a W.H. Hahn, but that perhaps my great-grandfather was W.F. Hahn. I have distinct recollection of his initials being W.H., and have looked for the family Bible, but cannot find it. Also, I have been told by someone doing family research that the name "Hahn" could be the same as "Horne," but I cannot verify that." The "W.H. Hahn" referred to by John Devore, Jr. is likely the William Horne that partnered with potter, Jonathan Devore, at the Jesse P. Bodie pottery at Kirksey's Crossroads in the 1870s. A small number of jugs have survived bearing the inscription, "Made By Horne & Devore / Kirksey's X Roads / Edgefield County / So. Ca.," indicating the close-knit relationship of this potter tandem. In his letter, John Devore, Jr., remarkably notes that this ring jug was given as a gift of marriage between the Hahn (Horne) and Devore families sometime in the late 19th century. Few Edgefield stoneware ring jugs are known, this example carrying a wonderful history within two families of potters. Exhibited/Literature: Swag & Tassel: The Innovative Stoneware of Thomas Chandler, McKissick Museum, August 6, 2018 - July 20, 2019, p. 83, pl. 93 of exhibition catalog. Provenance: Made by W.H. Haun (Horne) and given to his son-in-law, James Brantley Devore (1870-1946) upon his marriage to Hahn's daughter, Mary Ann Hahn; given to Devore's son, John Franklin Devore (1906-1984); given to John Franklin Devore's son, John Franklin Devore, Jr. (1931-2013); purchased by David Ward in 1999 from John Franklin Devore, Jr. A minor nick to spout and areas of surface wear. L 11 3/4".
