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Williams operated a pottery operation in the upcountry of South Carolina during the early 1900's. He may have been a descendant of Edgefield freed black potter Milage Williams or he may have learned...Pottery
South Carolina, with its rich clay deposits, is the home to two different, but very important ceramic traditions - Catawba earthenware and alkaline-glazed stoneware. Before European contact in the 16th century, the Catawba Nation controlled much of what is now South Carolina and most of the North Carolina Piedmont. This tradition has continued through elder potters sharing their knowledge and skills with younger generations. While their techniques remain ancient, they have adapted their forms to changing markets. Kinship and community were also important in the development and diffusion of the alkaline-glazed stoneware tradition during the nineteenth century. Using European and African forms and labor the Edgefield, South Carolina, potteries produced containers used primarily for food preservation and preparation. As some potters migrated west and to other areas in the southeast, they spread the alkaline-glazed tradition into Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.
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Within this Series
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Williams operated a pottery operation in the upcountry of South Carolina during the early 1900's. He may have been a descendant of Edgefield freed black potter Milage Williams or he may have learned...Photo
Dr. Abner Landrum (1783-1856) was a major figure in the development and dissemination of the alkaline-glazed pottery tradition. In addition to being a newspaper editor and land speculator, he is...Photo
Florence Wade learned to make pottery from her sisters and other family members, including accomplished Catawba potters Sara Harris Ayers and Edith Brown. The Harris family of Catawba potters belongs...Photo
Evelyn George was designated a master potter of Catawba pottery by the Catawba Indian Nation. Born in 1914, Ms. George learned as a child from her great-grandmother. She was influenced by individuals...Photo
David Drake, a slave known as "Dave" by pottery scholars and collectors, is the most fascinating character coming from the alkaline-glazed stoneware tradition in Edgefield. Unlike most slaves in the...Audio
Boyd S. Hilton (d. 1985), Blackburn, Catawba County. Interview recorded July 1981. Boyd S. Hilton belonged to a family with deep roots in the Catawba Valley pottery tradition. John Wesley Hilton was...Audio
Boyd S. Hilton (d. 1985), Blackburn, Catawba County. Interview recorded July 1981. Boyd S. Hilton belonged to a family with deep roots in the Catawba Valley pottery tradition. John Wesley Hilton was...Audio
Edwin Truitt Meaders, Cleveland, White County. Interview recorded June 1981. The Meaders tradition began in 1893 with John Milton Meaders in the small White County town of Cleveland. Several...Audio
Quillian Lanier Meaders (d. 1998), Cleveland, White County. Interview recorded June 1981. The Meaders tradition began in 1893 with John Milton Meaders in the small White County town of Cleveland...