Guadalupe Pottery Company
Jar

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Jar
Datec. 1857–1869
Made inSeguin, Texas, United States
MediumSalt-glazed stoneware with brown slip interior
Dimensions10 1/2 × 7 1/2 in. diameter (26.7 × 19.1 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill
Object numberB.2012.56
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Texas Alcove And Hall
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

North Carolina native John M. Wilson trained to be a lawyer and later became a Presbyterian minister and entrepreneur. In 1850, he moved his family and those whom he enslaved to Missouri. In the wake of the violence that arose in the region in the dispute over whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free state or a slave state, Wilson moved in 1856 and settled in Seguin, Texas. By 1857, he established the Guadalupe Pottery, which was active until 1869. Most of the work was carried out by enslaved workers, some of whom later established the firm of H. Wilson & Company. They may have learned the trade while in North Carolina or from others trained in southern pottery traditions associated with the Edgefield District of South Carolina, which included the use of a partially subterranean groundhog kiln and alkaline or ash glazes.

Ohio-born Isaac Suttles worked at the Guadalupe Pottery after the Civil War and is believed responsible for introducing the technique of salt glazing there.


ProvenanceRobert P. Cochran, Houston: [Jon St. Clair, Austin]; purchased by William J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston, 1995; given to MFAH, 2012.
Exhibition History"Houston Collects: African American Art," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 31–October 26, 2008.

"Wilson Potters," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, January 8–April 25, 2010.

"Made in Texas: Art, Life and Culture: 1845–1900," Beeville Art Museum, Texas, September 20, 2014–January 10, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
none visible

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Jar
Guadalupe Pottery Company
c. 1857–1869
Salt-glazed stoneware with salt drops and slip-glazed interior
B.2012.142
Jar
Guadalupe Pottery Company
c. 1857–1869
Salt-glazed stoneware with slip interior
B.2012.141
Jar
Guadalupe Pottery Company
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Salt-glazed stoneware with slip interior
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Five-Gallon Jar
Guadalupe Pottery Company
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Salt- and slip-glazed stoneware
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Jar
Guadalupe Pottery Company
c. 1857–1869
Salt-glazed stoneware
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Four-Gallon Jar
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Jar with Lid
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Jar with Lid
H. Wilson & Co.
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Salt-glazed stoneware with slip interior
B.2012.145.A,.B
Jar
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c. 1869–1884
Salt-glazed stoneware with slip interior
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Jug
Guadalupe Pottery Company
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Alkaline-glazed stoneware with salt drops
B.2012.127