Case Antiques, Inc.

April 19, 2008

An important Southern Antiques Auction on Saturday, April 19th at 10:00 AM EST. The auction will be held at the Cherokee Mills Building, 2200 Sutherland Avenue - Knoxville, Tennessee. This auction will feature Tennessee and Virginia estates including the Margaret Lindsley Warden estate of Nashville, the George Mallonee estate of Nashville, an Eastern North Carolina living estate, the Alfred Hearn living estate of Rural Retreat,Virginia, and various consignments. Items include important Southern decorative arts from Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia. Additionally, there will be an extensive offering of sterling and coin silver, fine European porcelain and glass, important Art Deco diamond jewelry, Arts and Crafts period items, and fine art. Approximately 400 cataloged lots. Preview will be held on Friday, April 18th. For a sample preview of items in this auction, click here. For a complete online auction catalog, click here.

Our Saturday, June 24th auction at the New City Cafe was a big success. Listed below are some highlights from this auction:

(prices realized do not include a 10% buyer’s premium)

If you are interested in consigning items of this quality for future auctions, please contact us at jdcase@caseantiques.com.

	Rare East Tennessee painted child’s chest, Washington or Sullivan County, TN. Original red and black painted design consisting of flowers with heart shaped flowers flanking a central painted star design. The painted star with black dots is repeated on chest sides. Black painted base, top molding, and turned feet. This chest was exhibited in the Art and Furniture of East Tennessee exhibit at the East Tennessee Historical Society in 1990. This chest is also illustrated in the Art and Furniture of East Tennessee by Namuni Hale Young, p. 59, figure 109. 25″ width x 15 3/4″ height x 12″ depth. Circa 1830-50. Estimate $2,000-$3,000. Realized $10,100.
	Early walnut pie safe, Washington County, Tennessee. This safe is illustrated in The Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture, Harsh and Williams, p. 164, figure 192. Two large cupboard doors with inset tins containing stylized urn, grape, and foilage designs. Similar tin designs are in the case sides. The central stile separating the doors has an inlaid band. The case ends in tapered feet. Dimensions 43.5″ height x 50″ width x 17″ depth. Second quarter of 19th century. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Realized $9,600.
	(Sullivan County, Tennessee redware jug, attributed to Cain pottery (also referred to as Great Road pottery). Height 9.125″. 19th century. Estimate $1,800-$2,400. Realized $3,200.
	Sullivan County, Tennessee redware jug, Cain pottery. Height 7.25″. 19th century. Estimate $1,200-$1,600. Realized $1,900.
	(left) Edgefield South Carolina stoneware jar with original domed lid, marked near base of jar with a “C” mark and five incised squares on the upper midsection, attributed to the Pottersville Stoneware Manufactory, Edgefield District of South Carolina. Height of jar 15″, height of lid 4″, diameter of lid 6″. Early 19th century. Estimate $1,400-$2,800. Realized $5,500. (right) Edgefield, South Carolina jug, broken stem flower design with “4″ in the flower, denoting gallon capacity. Condition - section of handle missing. Height 16.5″. Early to Mid 19th century. Estimate $1,400-$2,200. Realized $3600.
	Sullivan County, Tennessee redware cream pot, Cain pottery. Lead glazed, sine wave and incised lines bordering around the upper midsection. Height 5.75″. 19th century. Estimate $450-$750. Realized $900.
	Manganese splotched pitcher, attributed to Cain pottery of Sullivan County, Tennessee. Provenance - John Gordon collection, NYC. Height 11.75″. Circa 1840-1880. Estimate $1,400-$1,800. Realized $3,550.
	Miniature flowerpot with sine wave incising, Washington Co., TN. Attributed to Charles Decker. Illustrated in The Pottery of Charles Decker: A life well made, p. 59, figure 1. 3.75″ height. 19th century. Estimate $800-$1,200. Realized $1,450.
	Cobalt decorated jug attributed to Charles Decker, Washington Co., TN. Salt glazed stoneware with three cobalt decorated flowers and cobalt decoration on handle terminus, incised line on upper midsection. Illustrated in The Pottery of Charles Decker: A life well made,p. 40, figure 1. 11 1/2″ height. Circa 1870-80. Estimate $1,200-$1,500. Realized $1,500.
	(left) Rare Catawba Valley North Carolina 5 gallon jar, Daniel Seagle (1805-1867), Lincoln County, NC. Incised lines on the underside of a flaring rim, one handle stamped “D.S.”, green alkaline glaze with brown/green runs with extensive pooling of glaze in the bottom of the jar. This DS stamp is similar to a Daniel Seagle stamp illustrated in Two Centuries of Potters: A Catawba Valley Tradition, Lincoln County Historical Association, p. 19, figure 12. Height 19.5″. Circa 1830-1840. Estimate $4,800-$5,800. Realized $5400. (right) Edgefield, South Carolina jug, kaolin slip trailed floral motif around a “3″ (denoting gallon capacity) and “1852″ date. Attributed to Thomas Chandler. Light green alkaline glaze, tapered rim, and large pulled handle. Unglazed red clay bottom. Condition - glued crack at base. Height 16 5/8″. Early to Mid 19th century. Circa 1852. Estimate $5,000-$6,000. Realized $6,200.
	North Carolina folk pottery bank by Billy Ray Hussey. Bank with twisted handles, cobalt decorated rooster atop bank finial and cobalt runs around handles. On the coin slot side is the inscription, “Money”, and on the other side is inscribed, “IN GOD WE TRUST”. Cobalt blue band above the inscription. The bottom is inscribed, “BH XVI”. Estimate $300-$400. Realized $550.
	Southern corner cupboard, Greene County, Tennessee. Provenance - Hendrickson estate of Greeneville. Consisting of a broken arch pediment with central plinth fan, glazed doors, plain mid-molding, paneled lower cupboard doors, serpentine skirt with a central cutout, tapered feet. This cupboard is related to examples illustrated in The Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture, Harsh and Williams, pp 182-183. Dimensions 91″ height x 46″ width x 25.5″ depth. Circa 1825-35. Estimate $7,000-$9,000. Realized $8,200.
	Southern walnut blanket chest, Wilson or Rutherford County, Tennessee. Consisting of carved diamond patterns across the top of the drawer and two rows of carved diamonds in side panels. Inlaid diamond escutcheon with hinged top. Chest rests on turned feet. Retains the original finish. Dimensions 38.5 height x 50.5″ width x 19.75″ depth. Mid 19th century. Estimate $3,000-$4,000. Realized $5,000.
	(left) North Carolina salt glazed jug by W. W. Ballard, stamped ‘W. W. Ballard Dockery, N.C.’ Pulled handle with concentric rings around the upper bulbous midsection. Height 7.25″. Mid to Late 19th century. Estimate $500-$600. Realized $1,700.
	North Carolina jar, stamped ‘M.R. Moffitt’. 10 1/4″ height. Estimate $100-$150. Realized $750.
	Pair of East Tennessee side chairs, attributed to Wilder family chair makers of Cocke County, TN. Maple posts and slats, hickory or ash stretchers. For a similar example, refer to The Art & Furniture of East Tennessee by Namuni Hale Young, p.26, figure 45. Dimensions - 38″ H x 18.5″ W x 14″ D. 19th century. Estimate $500-$600. Realized $775.
	Rare pair of Middle Tennessee double handle jars. Handles on both jars pulled with a central channel, handles terminating at midsection taper and curl up. Late 19th or Early 20th century. Left jar height 8 5/8″, Right jar height 8 11/16″ height. Estimate $700-$800. Realized $1,000.
	East Tennessee one drawer table in the Hepplewhite style, Greene County, TN. Consisting of one board top, dovetailed drawer with a beveled drawer front, tapered legs. Primary wood walnut, yellow pine secondary wood. Wedged dovetails in the drawer construction are typical of Germanic cabinetmaking community in Greene County. Retains the original finish. 29 3/4″ height x 25 1/4″ width x 18 3/4″ depth. Circa 1820-30. Estimate $800-$1,100. Realized $1,500.
	Southern walnut press cupboard, Washington County, Tennessee. Consisting of one long dovetailed drawer over two doors with horizontal dividers, gallery with shaped returns, serpentine skirt and turned feet. Retains the original surface. Dimensions 54.25″ height with gallery x 46″ width x 19″ depth. Mid 19th century. Estimate $1,200-$2,400. Realized $1,900.
	Pair of Early mammy andirons, cast iron woman figure in dress, fire dog shanks dovetail into the back of the cast figure guards. 16″ height. Circa 1850-70. Estimate $1,000-$1,200. Realized $1,350.
	Pair of Shenandoah Valley Andirons, attributed to the Luray furnace, Virginia, finials are the form of a man’s head resting on a fluted shaft and ending in splayed feet. Height 12″. Early 19th century. Estimate $800-$1,400. Realized $1,000.
	Oil on board painting by Everett Longley Warner (1877-1963). Impressionist oil of a man burning leaves in a natural setting. Lyme Art Association label on the back with the signature of the artist. The painting is also signed in the lower right hand corner, “Everett Warner”. 19.25″ x 25.25 painting, 26″ x 32″ frame. Estimate $2,800-$3,800. Realized $4,700.
	Oil on board of American Indian. Dimensions 9.5″ x 11.5″ (original frame 11 1/2″ by 13 1/2″). Late 19th/early 20th century. Estimate $500-$600. Realized $1,200.
	North Carolina swirlware pottery wig stand by Burlon Craig. Green and cream swirled alkaline glaze in a twisting pattern, white porcelain teeth. Stamped on bottom, “B.B. Craig Vale N.C.” Excellent condtion. 12 1/2″ height. Estimate $800-$1,400. Realized $1400.
	North Carolina Jugtown Chinese glaze bowl, , stamped JUGTOWN WARE on the bottom, Owens pottery of North Carolina, robin egg blue glaze with purple/red glaze runs inside and outside. Condition - excellent. Dimensions - 9 1/4″ diameter 3 1/4″ height. 20th Century. Estimate $450-$550. Realized $700.
	North Carolina Cherokee rivercane carrying basket, walnut dyed cane forming the arrow design on midsection and rim, bloodroot dyed cane used the rim area, wooden handle. Condition - fading of walnut and blood dyed cane on one side of basket, otherwise excellent. Old patina on handle and cane. Dimensions - 10″ height x 13″ length. Mid to Late 19th century. Estimate $400-$550. Realized $450.
	Large Ohio stoneware jar, marked ‘J D Dillon 8′ and ‘Burlington’, by J. D. Dillon of Burlington, Ohio. Eight gallon capacity with inscription in script on bottom of the jar. Jar has extruded handles, rolled rim, and incising around upper and middle section. Condition - old shallow chip on inside and outside of rim, otherwise excellent. 18″ height. 19th century. Examples of Dillon’s work are in the Ohio Historical Society. Estimate $400-$500. Realized $1,000.

Southern redware and stoneware research has made significant strides in the last 25 years. Entire new schools of pottery have been discovered, uncovering new forms and traditions. The pottery of the “Great Road”, encompassing Southwest Virginia and Eastern Tennessee represents a newly discovered pottery tradition.

The Great Road region

The Great Road name was given to the primary route from Roanoke, Virginia to Eastern Tennessee. It was considered part of the “Great Wagon Road” initiating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Moore, p.528). The regions of Southwest Virginia and Eastern Tennessee provided ideal earthenware production. There was an abundance of workable clays, a rapidly expanding population base during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and ease of transportation along the Great Road (Cullity, p. 62). Major pottery centers existed in Wytheville and Abingdon, Virginia and in Sullivan County of East Tennessee.

Moravian influence
Pottery from the Great Road region display form and glaze attributes that relate to North Carolina Moravian pottery. Research has not yielded information to explain this similarity, as no Moravian potters were known to be working in this region. Thus, it can be assumed that a parallel pottery tradition developed along the Great Road, incorporating Germanic and other ethnic influences (early settlers included Pennsylvania and Virginia Germans, Scots-Irish, English/Welsh, free Blacks, and slaves).

The North Carolina Moravian influence could have occurred from local potters copying the popular Moravian earthenware forms that were probably being sold in frontier stores from Wytheville, Virginia to the Watauga settlement of East Tennessee (p.21, Bivens).

The quality of Salem ceramics were renown as the finest earthenware available. As a result, supply of these wares rarely satisfied demand.

Great Road Pottery characteristics
Most clay forms of Great Road pottery were fired to a reddish-orange color. This color was the result of a high iron content in the clay at lower kiln temperatures. Most North Carolina Moravian wares were fired to a higher temperature and possessed a lower iron content, resulting in a buff color clay after firing.

The pottery forms from this region are more heterogeneous than previously realized. Discoveries of bowls, pitchers, jars, and inkwells from this region display a variety of glazes and forms. Despite this, there are still common characteristics of forms and glazes that identify this pottery within the Great Road region.

Characteristics of Great Road redware include:

1. Elongated neck, bulbous midsection, and tapering base. This results in an ovoid appearance.
2. When incising applied, sine waves and bands predominated.
3. When handles applied, they are usually of the extruded type, ranging from two to five channels.
4. Finger imprints are usually present at the handle terminal.
5. Most common glazes include iron oxide, lead, and manganese. Copper oxide and yellow slip used to a lesser degree.
6. Base usually unglazed.

Cain Pottery

Born in 1782, Leonard Cain started the Cain pottery in Blountville, Tennessee (Sullivan County). It is believed that he had migrated from the Valley of Virginia (Rodefer interview). Sullivan County deed records place him in the area no later than 1814 (Smith, p.55). Leonard’s sons, Abraham B. Cain and William Cain were also potters. William Cain’s son, Martin A. Cain, continued the pottery until the early 1900’s. Martin represented the last of the Cain dynasty. The Wolford and Henshaw families were married to members of the Cain family and assisted in the pottery operation.

Cain pottery jugs
Although the Cain pottery was in operation for greater than 75 years, the pottery forms changed little, if any, over this period. Indeed, once the dangers became well known about lead glazes, many potters converted to stoneware production. However, it appears that the Cains were producing retardataire redware forms until 1897 (latest dated piece).

Perhaps the glaze most identified with the Cain pottery was the lead glazed body with maganese splotching, resembling Connecticut redware. Additional glazes include maganese and iron oxide glazes. The earliest Cain jugs appear to have iron oxide glazes. Copper oxide glazes do not appear to have been used until the late 19th century at the pottery. Many Cain pieces consist of incised decorations that include sinewave (as many as three to four rows on some pieces) and/or banding on the bulbous midsection of most clay bodies. The fired clay bodies are invariably reddish-orange in appearance. This was the result of a lower firing temperature and higher iron content in the clay. The handles of Cain pieces were almost always of the extruded type. Finger prints are found at the handle terminals.

Examining shard evidence from the pottery site, it becomes readily apparent that the Cains experimented with other glazes not seen within the region or even within the South. Gold streaks have been observed on a couple of pitchers and jugs that has yet to be identified by the glaze that produced it. Other pieces have a yellow-brown speckled glaze that was previously unknown to be produced by the Cains.

Bibliography

Books

• Bivens, John Jr. The Moravian Potters in North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1972.
• Comstock, H.E. The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
• Cullity, Brian. Slipped and Glazed: Regional American Redware, Hyannis, Massachusetts: Patriot Press, 1991.
• Holston Territory Genealogical Society. Families and History of Sullivan County, Tennessee 1792-1992, Vol I, Waynesville, NC: Walsworth Publishing, 1992.
• Smith, Samuel D. and Rogers, Steven T. A Survey of Pottery Making in Tennessee, Nashville: Division of Archaeology, Tennessee Department of Conservation, 1979.
• Stradling, Diana and J. Garrison, editors. The Art of the Potter, New York: Main Street/Universe Books, 1977.

Magazines

• Moore, J. Roderick. “Earthenware Potters Along The Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee,” The Magazine Antiques, September, 1983, pp. 528-537.

Maps

• A map of the State of Virginia by Herman Boye. Philadelphia, engraved by H. S. Tanner, 1826. Corrected by order of the executive, 1859.
• Mitchell’s Travelers Guide through the United States by J.H. Young. Philadelphia, published by S. Augustus Mitchell, 1836.

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