After Mac Anderson completed his studies at Tulane University School of Architecture, he joined his brothers Walter and Peter Anderson in Ocean Springs, MS, developing a series of small figurine sets at Shearwater Pottery. From these early collaborative works, Mac’s mature style emerged: an affinity for the flora, fauna, and people of the Gulf Coast that he beautifully captures through “reticulated floral designs” woven into exquisite patterns of daily life

The lasting legacy of the Andersons’ works is ubiquitous throughout the South. Mac’s pottery toured the U.S. and Europe in the late 1930s with the Robineaux Exhibition, and the brothers were commissioned by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) to execute murals and ceramic tile panels for the Ocean Springs High School. According to Anne Craton, the field coordinator of the Public Works of Art Project, the Anderson commission was the “most significant and interesting works of art done under the auspice of the program.” Famous paintings by Mac, such as Scene of the Singing River and Pitcher Plants and Pine Trees, can be seen at the Jackson County Courthouse, Pascagoula and the Ocean Springs Women’s Club.
Reference: “James McConnell Biography,” Shearwater Pottery, Web, 9 Oct. 2013; Patti Carr Black, Art in Mississippi, 1720-1980 (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998) 189.
Information Courtesy of Neal Auction Co., November, 2013.

Sgraffito derives from graffiare (Italian for “to scratch”) and graphein (Greek for “to write”) and is yet another example of a term that has been slowly adapted (or corrupted, some might say) for use in the American marketplace. Technically and historically speaking, sgraffito is used to describe a method of fresco used on walls (amazing examples still survive on even the exteriors of old buildings throughout Europe) and a means for decorating ceramics. In terms of both fresco wall decoration and ceramics, it means applying multiple layers – plaster for walls, slip for ceramics – and then scratching the upper layer away to reveal the contrasting color.

A Berks County, Pennsylvania redware sgraffito plate, circa 1820, attributed to Solomon Grimm. (p4A item # E8891611)

American sgraffito-decorated redware has great appeal among collectors, interesting pottery collectors as well as folk art buyers and is exponentially more popular than European redware. As with all pottery, desirability has to do with form and condition, but sgraffito is, in and of itself, very rare. While sales of large collections like the Shelley collection can skew the perception of availability, in reality, very few pieces appear on the market each year. Meanwhile, however, folks like Lester Breininger offer incredible reproduction pieces!

Breininger Pottery sgraffito redware charger. (p4A item # E8983763)

The decorative arts world has many “squishy” and vague vocabulary words, but few are “squishier” and vaguer than cartouche. Originally, the term comes from Egyptology and is used to describe a oval enclosing hieroglyphics and having a horizontal line at one end. (The line denotes royalty.) The oval had significance not unlike that of a closed circle, in that it was believed that an oval around a person’s name provided protection to that person. The strong association with the god-like royalty of ancient Egypt and the “good luck charm” nature of the symbol meant that it was eventually co-opted by the rest of the population and, as a result, it appears on all manner of structures and objects from the era.

Centuries later, when Egypt was a land divided constantly by conflicts, soldiers, seeing these ovals everywhere, are said to have found them to resemble the paper cartridges used in muskets. The French word for cartridge is cartouche and thus it became, in its original use, the term applied to this particular hieroglyphic element.

A Civil War-era example of a paper cartridge. (p4A item # D9865000)

Sterling silver vase with blank cartouche. (p4A item # E8906323)

Grisaille, from the French word gris meaning grey, is a term used to describe works of art painted entirely in a monochromatic palette. Technically speaking, there are other terms that apply when the monochromatic palette used is of a different color (brunaille for brown, verdaille for green, for instance), but grisaille is often misused to cover all monochrome works, regardless of hue. There are also plenty of works that are considered grisaille that are not perfectly, strictly speaking, in just one color, but the palette is severely curtailed.

A late 16th to early 17th century painting by Antonio Tempesta (Italian/Florence/Rome, 1555 to 1630) of a cavalry battle en brunaille. (p4A item # D9844979)

Thomas Clarkson Oliver, called Clark Oliver (American, 1827 to 1893) oil on artist board marine painting, Two Ships in a Storm. (p4A item # E8912591)

Lithophane comes from two Greek words: lithos, meaning stone and phainein, which has a more shaded meaning that is close to making something appear quickly. The term refers to an image or scene that is etched or molded into very thin porcelain, so that the intaglio image “pops” when light is placed behind the porcelain. (Because of their windowpane-like appearance, they are sometimes mistakenly referred to as “lithopanes.”) This makes lithophanes three-dimensional, unlike the two-dimensional works of art (prints, photographs, etc.) from which they are often derived.

A General Winfield Scott lithophane panel. (p4A item # D9773122)

Lithophanes were used, naturally, with objects related to household lighting: night lights, fireplace screens, lamps, but they also were used very cleverly, sometimes for erotic scenes, sometimes in the bottoms of mugs and beer steins, so that as the stein was drained, a scene would appear in the bottom. Lithophanes often depict many of the same scenes that appear in print images: religious events, literary scenes, portraits, etc., with some memorializing historical or political events. They were even used architecturally. For example, Samuel Colt, the firearms magnate, installed dozens of lithophanes throughout his Hartford, Connecticut home.

A German regimental porcelain stein. (p4A item # D9939670)

The word mustard is thought to come from two words: “mustum,” a Latin word for young wine, which is called must, and “ardens,” a Latin word for hot. It was a hot condiment made by grinding mustard seeds up with must to form a paste, and still today as a condiment made from mustard seeds (whole, ground, or cracked) and mixed with a liquid like water or lemon juice to create a paste, is used around the world, from India and Bangladesh to the Americas, to Africa and Europe. It’s considered one of the most popular condiments in the world.

Mustard was cultivated in the Indus Valley more than 1500 years B.C.E., but likely first found use as a table spice with the Romans, who would have exported it, as by the 13th century, Dijon, France, had become known for mustard manufacturing, a tradition that would continue into the 18th century when Grey-Poupon’s partnership was formed and mustard manufacturing was automated. It was also popular in medieval England, where it was favored because it stored so well. Ground mustard mixed with flour and cinnamon and/or horseradish was lightly moistened and rolled into balls that were dried. They had enormous advantage because they would not spoil or lose their flavor if stored in a cool, dark place and could then be ground up again for use as a seasoning at the table.

A George III silver crested mustard pot, Charles Aldridge, London, 1786-87. (See p4A Item ID E8929896)

In terms of value, it depends greatly on the material and the age. Silver mustard pots made by a well-regarded silversmith will have strong value, of course, as will standalone jars or pots, particularly if they are early and in good condition. Cruet sets have been a tougher sell in recent years because they are rarely used now and many people are unfamiliar with them, while the individual pots often do better because they can be repurposed in some way.

In the late 14th century, Jan Hus, a Roman Catholic priest in Prague who had been heavily influenced by reformer John Wycliffe, began to attract followers as he spoke out about indulgences (a key practice Martin Luther would attack again in 1517) and his belief that church members should be able, permitted, and encouraged to study the Bible themselves. Hus’s continual agitation would put him at odds with the Catholic Church and in 1415 he would be burned at the stake as a heretic.

Despite this gruesome attempt at silencing them, Hus’s followers were undeterred and remained firm in their conviction that reformation was needed. It would take more than 40 years, but in 1457, they would formally organize themselves as the Unitas Fratrum (United Brethren), simultaneously establishing themselves as one of the first Protestant religions. The political and religious situation in the region was regularly changing, permitting the German-speaking members to worship freely at times and subjecting them to persecution at others, but by the Reformation in 1517, the United Brethren would number 200,000 members with more than 400 houses of worship.

Within a century, turmoil would again make life in the region difficult for the United Brethren, who found themselves suffering from heightened intolerance, driven in part by the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), which would conclude with Catholicism becoming the official religion of the region, forcing the remaining members to flee or worship secretly.
The following years were lean ones for the Brethren, who were in fact nearing extinction by the 18th century, until Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf offered them sanctuary on his Saxony estate, an offer he had extended to many persecuted Protestant groups who found themselves under siege. The various groups would collaborate on the construction of Herrnhut, a settlement where all were allowed religious freedom.

The Moravians, as the group had become known by the name of their native region, found favor with Zinzendorf, who felt they would make excellent missionaries with his support. In the mid-18th century, they would travel through Northern Europe, the British Isles, and even into Greenland, spreading their religious beliefs. After a time however, outside political pressure on Zinzendorf lead to renewed persecution and some of the Moravians felt that true religious liberty could only be found in the New World.

A two-sided Moravian fish flask, green-glazed cream-colored earthenware, molded with scales, fins and eyes, attributed to Rudolph Christ, Salem, North Carolina, early 19th century. (p4A item # D9929818)

After a failed start in Georgia, the Moravians moved to Pennsylvania in 1741, purchasing land north of Philadelphia where, again with help from Zinzendorf, they built the Bethlehem commune. Over the next decade the society’s numbers would grow from approximately 20 members to several hundred. From this point of settlement, a community that would become the locus for the Moravians’ missionary efforts in North America, they would go on to develop 32 missions. Perhaps the next best-known settlement is that of Bethabara, which would become the Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the first of a number of settlements on a huge tract purchased in the Carolinas. The Moravian Church is still in existence today, although the communal nature of their lives, never as tightly restricted as some of the separatist communities by nature of their zeal for evangelism, faded away within just a generation or two.

The communities would operate like many other communes, producing and manufacturing to meet the needs of the immediate community and then cultivating clients in the outside world and using the income to support their missionary work. The Moravians lent their name to a rustic chair that is a fairly standard European “peasant” chair and other furniture linked to them and bearing heavy Germanic influences occasionally appears, but they are by far best known for their pottery, particularly their exuberantly decorated redware and their figural flasks, which can fetch thousands of dollars at auction.

James L. [Jim] Murphy (1941 to 2012) of Grove City, Ohio passed away on Oct. 8, 2012. Murphy published widely in the field of archeology and in 2008 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Archeological Society of Ohio. He was known to Ohio collectors as one of the state’s foremost experts on the topic of Ohio pottery. He was also an avid collector who was always willing to share his extensive knowledge of the subject. He was employed for over 20 years at the Ohio State University library.

Biographical note courtesy of Professor Robert Treichler.