Two (2) Southern pottery items, Charles Decker and Solomon Bell. 1st item: East TN cobalt decorated jar, attrib. Charles Decker of Keystone Pottery, Washington Co., TN, 2 gallon capacity, having extruded lug handles, bold cobalt decorated flower or tulip design on both sides with cobalt accents to the extruded lug handles. Stamped "2" to rim denoting capacity. 11 3/4" H. 19th century. 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. 2nd item: Solomon Bell (Virginia, 1817-1882) Strasburg, Virginia stoneware pottery bottle partially stamped "Solomon Bell" with undecipherable stamp below. Upper shoulder with cobalt "winged" style decoration. 7 3/4" H. 19th century. Provenance: Estate of Anne Harrison Taylor & Joseph F. Taylor, Morristown, TN. CONDITION: 1st item: Tight hairline approximately 3" emanating from rim into flower. Chip to the base. 2nd item: A couple of small chips to the rim, overall crazing to the glaze, and a couple of firing flaws to the body.