k s o f N o r t h C a r o l i n a E a r t h e n w a r e


storage and cooking vessels with deeply rooted antecedents to sophisticated ornamental ware with Islamic, Asian, and European overtones, the work of these artisans reveals the rich diversity of cultures finding expression in the South’s backcountry. North Carolina pot- ters, including the Moravians and others working east of Wachovia, transformed the simplest of materials into works of practical utility, astonishing beauty, and cultural and religious significance. One highly anticipated ele-


ment of the Art in Clay project is a traveling exhibition supported in part by the Caxambas Foundation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which will open at the Milwaukee Art Museum in September 2010. In January 2010 we were honored to provide the loan exhibition for the New York Ceramics Fair. This exhibition featured selected press-molded bottles with their original molds and served as an enticing kick-off for the larger traveling exhibition. One special addition to the Ceramics Fair exhibit was an exquisite press-molded turtle bottle acquired by Old Salem just before Christmas at a local auc- tion. This wonderful object and over 175 of its closest associates will comprise the larger exhibi- tion which will travel to the following venues: · Milwaukee Art Museum, September 2, 2010 through January 17, 2011


· Old Salem Museums & Gardens, March 19, 2011 through August 14, 2011


· Colonial Williamsburg, September 26, 2011 through June 24, 2012


· Additional venues are pending Equally important components of the Art in


Clay project include: · Two dedicated issues of Ceramics in America, the first of which focuses on Moravian pottery and is available for purchase now.


Spring/Summer 2010


The second issue will focus on earthenware made by other North Carolina potters work- ing in Alamance and Randolph counties and will be available in September of this year. · An online version of the exhibition · Educational seminars and programs Of course, here at Old


Salem, the Art in Clay project has been greatly enhanced by the work of the historic trades and archaeology programs at Old Salem. The trades staff has gained invaluable


information about the mechan- ics of firing pottery by building and


working with an experimental kiln to fire some of the reproductions of Moravian pottery made by Salem’s current potter, Mike Fox. Mo Hartley and the staff of the archaeology department continue excavations and evaluation of material from the Shaffner-Krause pottery site, advanc- ing our understanding of nineteenth-century Moravian pottery. The Art in Clay project has altered cur-


rent understanding of American ceramic his- tory and highlights the important role of early North Carolina earthenware potters such as the Moravians and their neighbors in the southern Backcountry. The various parts of the proj- ect—the traveling exhibition, two outstanding dedicated issues of Ceramics in America, and a variety of educational programs—give us an exciting opportunity to celebrate the artistic legacy of the Moravian potters who settled in Wachovia and their equally important neighbors to the east. m


Johanna M. Brown is Director of Collections and Curator of Moravian Decorative Arts at Old Salem Museums & Gardens.


17


The Art in Clay project has been enhanced by the work of the historic trades and archaeology programs at Old Salem.


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