Lot 240: East TN Decker Cobalt Decorated Stoneware Cake Crock

East Tennessee stoneware pottery cake crock attributed to the Decker pottery of Washington County (1832-1914) with 3-stem cobalt floral decoration to each side and the handles and bands of sinewave decoration below the rim. Top of rim stamped "3" denoting 3-gallon capacity. 8 3/4" H x 12 1/4" dia. Maker's biography (Courtesy of Carole Wahler): Charles Frederick Decker was born in Germany in 1832. He arrived in Philadelphia in his late teens. Oral tradition suggests he worked at the Remmey Pottery before establishing his Keystone pottery there at the age of 25. He moved his family to Delaware for a few years and then back to Philadelphia. After 1869, Decker moved to Virginia, six miles north of Abingdon. The pottery he operated there was located on land owned by a man named Mallicote (Mallicoat). In 1872, he established his pottery in the Nolichucky River Valley near present day Johnson City, Tennessee. For a year or so he operated in both Virginia and Tennessee. He was one of a number of potters who settled in the region during the early years of Reconstruction. He named his Chucky Valley pottery the same name that he had used in Pennsylvania, Keystone Pottery. His pottery was marketed not only in East Tennessee, but also in North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky.

CONDITION: Large repaired break extending diagonally through the body.