Pitcher

This redware pitcher with cobalt sponge wash decoration is marked by its maker: J. Bell. John Bell was the most famous potter from the Shenandoah Valley area. Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, he was trained by his father, Peter Bell, and influenced by Hagerstown’s large and active community of immigrant potters. Located in southern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley was an area abundant with rich earthenware and stoneware clay deposits, and its pottery tradition dates to at least the mid-eighteenth century. By 1833 John Bell had moved to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania and established a small but successful pottery business which continued to grow as his own sons (he and his wife had nine children) joined the shop. His brothers and his sons were largely responsible for disseminating the pottery tradition throughout the valley. For the most part his pottery produced utilitarian items such as crocks, pitchers, and flowerpots. This pitcher, while utilitarian in form, demonstrates the innovative decorative techniques employed at the Bell pottery. It uses a pattern of blue sponged markings to create stripes curving around the pitcher’s body. These markings may have been created using a roulette-type sponge of Bell’s invention to achieve the distinctive patterning.