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Thomas Ritchie Alkaline Glazed Stoneware Pitcher Catawba Valley c 1870

About the Item

Thomas Ritchie is one of the better documented Catawba Valley NC potters who worked in the mid 19th century up until (it is estimated) about 1900. A number of his jugs, crocks and canning jars survive with various markings that include TR and this particular 1 gallon capacity stamp and typical scribed horizontal lines. (Hence the attribution to TR). What is especially interesting about this one is that it is a pitcher and and although a milk pitcher is a quintessential folk pottery form, a Thomas Ritchie example is almost unobtainable on the market. Further, this may very well be one his earliest. Either Lincoln County pre-1860... or right after he moved a little North further up into the Catawba Valley, the evidence for an early date is clear. The clay and inclusions were not as fully worked out in this example, as can be seen by the warts, bubbles and inclusions. It did not take long for TR to refine his clay, glaze and kiln processes to avoid such irregularities. Most importantly they add warmth, charm and character... and are a reminder that it's fortunate this one survived the kiln and an ensuing century and a half of use. There are nicks and chips around the rim, but nothing that compromises the presentation. I am estimating a date in the 1870's to be conservative, but a date in the 1850's can be equally well argued. It is unclear to me, despite decades of collecting that we can definitively tell the clay from the 1850's from that of the 1870's or that the capacity mark was in use that early.

Dimensions:

Height: 9.88 in (25.1 cm)Width: 8 in (20.32 cm)Depth: 9 in (22.86 cm)

Style:

Folk Art (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Pottery,Hand-Crafted

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

1870-1879

Date of Manufacture:

C1870