Luke Beckerdite, Johanna Brown, and Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton
Slipware from the St. Asaph's Tradition

Ceramics in America 2010

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 10". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens; unless otherwise noted, photos by Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Bottle, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 6". (Private collection.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Dish and bowl fragments recovered at Solomon Loy’s pottery site, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1825–1840. Lead-glazed earthenware and bisque-fired earthenware. (Courtesy, Research Labs of Archaeology, UNC-Chapel Hill.) All of these Solomon Loy fragments are from site 31AM191.

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Flask, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1770–1790. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 5 3/8". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) 

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Detail of the decoration on one side of the flask illustrated in fig. 4. 

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Detail of Hyacinthe Rigaud, Cardinal de Bouillon, Perpignan, France, 1708. Oil on canvas, 97" x 95". (Courtesy, Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud.)

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Antoine Raspal, Portrait de Jeune Fille en Costume d’Arles, France, 1779. Oil on canvas. 24 1/2" x 24". (Courtesy, Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, don du docteur Arnaud.)

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1770–1790. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 12 1/2". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) 

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Details showing the back profiles of the dish illustrated in fig. 8 (left) and a dish attributed to the Moravian pottery in Salem, North Carolina (right). 

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Detail of the cavetto decoration on the dish illustrated in fig. 8. 

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Detail of the decoration on the shoulder of the flask illustrated in fig. 4. 

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Powder flask, probably Germany, 1600–1650. Wood, brass, and wire inlay. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Map showing pottery site locations for Henry Loy, Jacob Albright Jr., Solomon Loy, and Joseph Loy.

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Dish fragments recovered at Jacob Albright Jr.’s pottery site, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1795–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. (Courtesy, Research Labs of Archaeology, UNC-Chapel Hill.) The fragment at the upper right has marbleized decoration. Slip-decorated earthenware might have been produced at this site before it was occupied by Albright and his son-in-law Henry Loy.

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Details showing a cavetto fragment (lead-glazed earthenware) recovered at Jacob Albright Jr.’s pottery site and the marly decoration on the dish illustrated in fig. 30. 

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Dish fragments recovered at Jacob Albright Jr.’s pottery site, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1795–1820. Bisque-fired earthenware. (Courtesy, Research Labs of Archaeology, UNC-Chapel Hill.) 

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Mug fragments recovered at Jacob Albright Jr.’s pottery site, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1795–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. (Courtesy, Research Labs of Archaeology, UNC-Chapel Hill.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Side, front, and rear views of a tankard, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1785–1810. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 9". (From the Collections of The Henry Ford 59.144.3)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Handle fragment recovered at Joseph Loy’s pottery site, Person County, North Carolina, ca. 1833. Lead-glazed earthenware. (Courtesy, Research Labs of Archaeology, UNC-Chapel Hill.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1775–1795. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 15 1/2". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1775–1795. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 12 5/8". (Courtesy, The Barnes Foundation.) 

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1775–1795. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 14 7/8". (From the Collections of The Henry Ford 59.143.1)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Chest, attributed to Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1785–1795. Tulip poplar and pine. H. 28 5/8", W. 52 1/2". (Courtesy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.) 

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Detail of the painted decoration on one side of the chest illustrated in fig. 23.

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Details showing the decoration in the cavetti of the dishes illustrated in fig. 20 (left) and fig. 21 (right). 

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    Details showing the back profiles of the dishes illustrated in fig. 20 (top) and fig. 21 (bottom). 

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1785–1810. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 12 1/2". (From the Collections of The Henry Ford 59.145.2) 

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Detail showing the decoration in the cavetto of the dish illustrated in fig. 27 (left) and a cavetto fragment (right) recovered at Jacob Albright Jr.’s pottery site. 

  • Figure 29
    Figure 29

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 10 7/8". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 30
    Figure 30

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 10 3/8". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 31
    Figure 31

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 11". (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; photo, Hans Lorenz.)

  • Figure 32
    Figure 32

    Details showing the back profiles of the dishes illustrated in (from left to right) figs. 1, 29, and 30.

  • Figure 33
    Figure 33

    Detail of the fluted separator on the back of the dish illustrated in fig. 29.

  • Figure 34
    Figure 34

    Detail of the post-production marks on the back of the dish illustrated in fig. 1.

  • Figure 35
    Figure 35

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 10". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 36
    Figure 36

    Detail of the post-production marks on the back of the dish illustrated in fig. 35. 

  • Figure 37
    Figure 37

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 10". (Private collection.) This dish has a twentieth-century recovery history in Alamance County.

  • Figure 38
    Figure 38

    Detail of the back profile of the dish illustrated in fig. 37. The profile of this example is virtually identical to that of the dish illustrated in fig. 35. 

  • Figure 39
    Figure 39

    Dish fragment recovered from lot 49 in Salem, North Carolina, 1780–1820. Bisque-fired earthenware. (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) 

  • Figure 40
    Figure 40

    Punch bowl, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1810. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 5 3/4". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 41
    Figure 41

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1835. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 11 1/2". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 42
    Figure 42

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1835. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 11". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) This is the earliest dish with “nested triangles,” a motif commonly employed by Solomon Loy. Antecedents for this motif can be seen on the front panels of paint-decorated chests attributed to Bern Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania (see fig. 23).

  • Figure 43
    Figure 43

    Details showing the back profiles of the dishes illustrated in fig. 41 (left) and fig. 42 (right). 

  • Figure 44
    Figure 44

    Details showing the decoration in the cavetti of the dishes illustrated in fig. 1 (left) and fig. 41 (right).

  • Figure 45
    Figure 45

    Details showing the decoration in the cavetti of the dishes illustrated in fig. 20 (left) and fig. 42 (right).

  • Figure 46
    Figure 46

    Pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1785–1810. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 47
    Figure 47

    Fragmentary pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. (Courtesy, Research Labs of Archaeology, UNC-Chapel Hill.)

  • Figure 48
    Figure 48

    Pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1835. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 49
    Figure 49

    Details showing the rims and handles of the pitchers illustrated in fig. 46 (left) and fig. 48 (right). 

  • Figure 50
    Figure 50

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1835. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 10 7/8". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 51
    Figure 51

    Dish, attributed to Solomon Loy, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1825–1840. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 12". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 52
    Figure 52

    Pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10". (Courtesy, High Museum of Art.)

  • Figure 53
    Figure 53

    Pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 54
    Figure 54

    Detail of the rim of the pitcher illustrated in fig. 53.

  • Figure 55
    Figure 55

    Detail of the handle terminal and foot of the pitcher illustrated in fig. 53.

  • Figure 56
    Figure 56

    Rear and side views of a pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10 1/2". (From the Collections of The Henry Ford 59.15.3) 

  • Figure 57
    Figure 57

    Pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 6 1/2". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 58
    Figure 58

    Detail of the handle and body of the pitcher illustrated in fig. 57.

  • Figure 59
    Figure 59

    Fragmentary pitcher, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1835. Lead-glazed earthenware. (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) The stylized plant motif on this object is visible in fig. 60 (right).

  • Figure 60
    Figure 60

    Detail showing the decoration on the pitchers illustrated in fig. 46 (left) and fig. 59 (right).

  • Figure 61
    Figure 61

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1835. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 10". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 62
    Figure 62

    Sugar pots, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 12 3/4" (left), 13" (center), 7" (right). (Courtesy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art [left], From the Collections of The Henry Ford 59.143.3[center], private collection [right].) The pot with the white ground descended in the Crouse family of Alamance County.

  • Figure 63
    Figure 63

    Sugar pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 8". (Private collection.) This jar descended in the Löffler (Spoon) family of Alamance County and southeastern Guilford County. The 1787 tax list for the St. Asaph’s district lists “Widow Sarah Spoon.” John, Adam, and Peter Spoon were listed in the 1792 assessment. 

  • Figure 64
    Figure 64

    Sugar pots, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1830. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 8" (left), 8" (right). (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 65
    Figure 65

    Sugar pots, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1830. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10" (left), 10" (right). (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 66
    Figure 66

    Condiment pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1795–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 5". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) The lower section of this pot has a partition in the center. 

  • Figure 67
    Figure 67

    Bowl, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 3". (Private collection.) 

  • Figure 68
    Figure 68

    Sugar pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1770–1790. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 8 1/4". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 69
    Figure 69

    Detail of the rim and handle of the sugar pot illustrated in fig. 68.

  • Figure 70
    Figure 70

    Exterior and interior views of a sugar pot lid, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1770–1790. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 7". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 71
    Figure 71

    Sugar pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1785–1810. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 7 1/2". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 72
    Figure 72

    Sugar pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10 1/2". (Private collection.)

  • Figure 73
    Figure 73

    Details showing the cross and fleur-de-lis decoration on the sugar pot illustrated in fig. 72 (left) and the dish illustrated in fig. 31 (right).

  • Figure 74
    Figure 74

    Sugar pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1810. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.)

  • Figure 75
    Figure 75

    Sugar pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1790–1810. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 6 1/4". (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.)

  • Figure 76
    Figure 76

    Detail of the rim, handle, and body of the sugar pot illustrated in fig. 74. 

  • Figure 77
    Figure 77

    Detail of the rim, handle, and body of the sugar pot illustrated in fig. 75.

  • Figure 78
    Figure 78

    Sugar pot, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1795–1820. Lead-glazed earthenware. H. 10". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens.) The color and surface texture of the lid are somewhat different from those of the body. Although it is possible that this discrepancy denotes an early “marriage,” the fit of the lid suggests that it is original. Placement in the kiln and subsequent use could account for the differences visible here.

  • Figure 79
    Figure 79

    Detail of the rim, handle, and body of the sugar pot illustrated in fig. 78.

  • Figure 80
    Figure 80

    Confirmation certificate for Johannes Löffler Jr., Guilford County, North Carolina, 1779. Ink and watercolor on paper, 8 1/2" x 12 7/8". (Courtesy, Old Salem Museums & Gardens; photo, Wesley Stewart

  • Figure 81
    Figure 81

    Dish, Alamance County, North Carolina, 1800–1835. Lead-glazed earthenware. D. 12 1/2". (Courtesy, The Barnes Foundation.) This dish is probably an early example by Solomon Loy or one of his immediate predecessors. 

  • Figure 82
    Figure 82

    Details showing the marly decoration on the dishes illustrated in fig. 1 (left) and fig. 81 (right).

  • Figure 83
    Figure 83

    Details showing the decoration on (from top to bottom) the flask and dishes illustrated in figs. 4, 31, 81, and 51.