Elyse D. Gerstenecker, Robert Hunter, and Kurt Russ
At the End of a Rope: A Stoneware Jar and Political Frustration 

Ceramics in America 2023

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Jar, attributed to the Keesee & Parr Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, ca. 1861. Salt-glazed stoneware jar with cobalt decorations. H. 17 1/2". (William C. and Susan S. Mariner Private Foundation; photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Second view of the jar illustrated in fig. 1. Inscribed: “4” (four gallons). (Photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Third view of the jar illustrated in fig. 1. (Photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Fourth view of the jar illustrated in fig. 1. (Photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Detail of the decoration under the handle of the jar illustrated in fig. 4. (Photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Map of the Richmond area of Virginia, showing the locations of the Keesee & Parr stoneware pottery and the Stephen S. Sweeney pottery.  

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Jar, Keesee & Parr Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1860–1865. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 14". Capacity: 3 gallons. Inscribed in cobalt: “Keesee & Parr / Richmond / Va” (Courtesy, The Valentine; photo, Crocker Farm Auctions.) 

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Churn, Fulton Pottery, Alleghany County, Virginia, 1867–1885. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 16". (Kurt Russ Collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This four-gallon churn is decorated with a brushed blue-cobalt floral design and includes a centrally placed “palm” tree and signature.  

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Churn, Fulton Pottery, Alleghany County, Virginia, 1867–1885. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 17 1/8”. (Kurt Russ Collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) A five-gallon churn with a flaring rim, a well-defined collar, and applied crescent-shaped extruded handles exhibiting elaborate brushed manganese-dioxide decoration, including horizontally and vertically oriented floral motifs, a centrally placed “5” indicating vessel capacity, and the signature “G. N. Fulton” enclosed by horizontal wavy lines. 

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Storage jar, attributed to Stephen B. Sweeney, Henrico County, Virginia, 1838–1863. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 9 ½". (Private collection; photo, Kurt Russ.) The decorative motif on this one-gallon jar is a brushed-cobalt dancing man beneath one of the handles. 

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    “JJEFF DAVIS, ON HIS OWN PLATFORM, or the last ‘act of secession.’ ” Currier & Ives, New York, ca. 1861. Lithograph on wove paper. 12 13/16” x 11". (Library of Congress.) 

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    James W. Porter, Hang Him on the Sour Apple Tree, J. Marsh, Philadelphia, 1865. Notated music. (Library of Congress.) https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200001255/.

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Detail of the jar illustrated in fig. 4.

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Detail of the jar illustrated in fig. 2. Inscribed: “A L.” Note how the script of the letters is similar to those used on the signed Keesee & Parr jar illustrated in fig. 7. 

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    “The Rail Candidate,” Currier & Ives, New York, 1860. Lithograph. 10 5/8” x 14 1/8”. (Library of Congress.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Jefferson Davis, undated. Drawing on paper. 10 ¼" x 16 ½". Handwritten inscription in lower right: “The Last and Best Portrait of Jeff Davis. Drawn from Life by A Sour Apple Tree.” (Heritage Auctions.) The drawing shows the president of the Confederate States struggling as he hangs from an apple tree. 

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    “Mistress Columbia,” Harper’s Weekly 4, no. 158 (January 7, 1860): 16. (Library of Congress.) 

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    “Columbia Awake at Last,” Harper’s Weekly (June 8, 1861): 368. (Wikimedia Commons.) 

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828), George Washington, begun 1795. Oil on canvas. 30 ¼" x 25 ¼". (Metropolitan Museum of Art.)