Joseph C. D. Rushton
Churn

Public Domain

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MakerAttributed to Joseph C. D. Rushton (American, active c. 1870–1900)American, active c. 1870–1900

Maker Rushton Pottery Company (American, 1873–1900)American, 1873–1900

CultureAmerican

Titles

Churn

Datec. 1873–1900

Made inHenderson, Texas, United States

MediumSlip-glazed stoneware with wood

Dimensions29 × 10 3/4 in. diameter (73.7 × 27.3 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill

Object numberB.2012.111.A-.C

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Ceramics Study Room

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

CERAMICS

DescriptionJoseph Rushton, son of a Randolph County, Alabama, pottery operator, came to Rusk County, Texas, sometime between 1868 and 1870. He may have worked for potter Taylor Brown before establishing his own firm, which operated between 1873 and 1900, producing both slip-glazed and alkaline-glazed wares.

A butter churn was taller and narrower than a storage jar of the same capacity. This allowed for more efficient motion of the dasher (agitator) through the cream, agitating it to cause the fat particles to come together as butter.
Provenance[Jon St. Clair, Austin]; purchased by William J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston, 2003; given to MFAH, 2012.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Incised on the body: 5

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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