Featured Food Storage or Pickling Jar / Crock?

Hi all! I seem to be on a pottery kick. I've had this jar for quite some time. It's been suggested that it is a food storage or pickling jar or crock. About the pictures: It's a bit darker green than the pictures show. I purposely used flash so that the design would show up. The design is elaborately hand done (might have even been "etched" in but can't be sure). With that amount of work, it was most likely made to be reused over and over again. Must've of been some amazing food in this container! Hoping someone can recognize the pattern or style, etc. (Fyi - I've been told it isn't Japanese or Chinese.) It stands 9 3/4" and about 6" at its widest. Weighs 3 lbs., 13 oz. and holds about a cup+ less than a gallon. Any ideas? Thank you!

 

Nice! I like it!

 

Thank you!

 

I like it too!

 

Thank you! Makes me happy that others like it, too.

 

Maybe Korean ? Love the color.

 

Interesting thought. I wasn't going in that direction but, then again, I wasn't going in any direction, except for circles. Thanks for pointing a possible way. Another thought that came to mind was French. But I have no idea why that keeps popping into my head.

 

Who knew that there is a Wikipedia list of obsolete measurements? I found it while trying to figure out how much liquid this jar may have held in different countries to see if there is a match. Wanted to share in case someone else might also benefit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_obsolete_units_of_measurement

 

It's a nice, large vase but I wouldn't want to put food in it.

 

Haha! Like not now! Edit: Chomping on words. Though I knew it was a storage vessel, your comment made me take a closer look at what type it could be. Experienced people have told me over and over they thought it was for pickling. So that's the direction I was heading.

 

I have a trail I am on. In my first post, I said it might be etched. I took another look and, sure enough under the loupe, it is almost certainly etched. With the design and "etching" in mind, I found comparable leave patterns on German earthenware (see pictures). One thing led to another and it led me back to America to the Pennsylvania German settlement (including Maryland, Virginia & New York). The German settlers were artisans who decorated utilitarian pieces as well. They began doing molds when they met up with their English counterparts. I'm going to sum it up because this post could get really lengthy. All in all, form, technique, pattern, footing - everything matches to a Redware Sgrafitto Pennsylvania German utilitarian vessel influenced by English training and techniques. And that leads right smack to the Pennsylvania settlement (roughly mid 18th century to mid 19th century). Here's a link worth reading if you are interested: http://selftaughtgenius.org/reads/pennsylvania-german-pottery

 

Thoughts? Where would I go from here to confirm, deny, disprove, or prove my theory? After all, it's not written in earthenware yet.

Okay, I'll see myself out of my own thread now.

 

My initial thought is that it is a lovely piece and would fit well into my own vintage/antique green glazed pottery collection.

After reading about your research and thoughts on possible origin I find myself openly coveting it and definitely wanting to know more as you pursue it's origins. I have not seen a comparable piece before but if time permits I will do a little searching myself and see if I can find any information for you.

 

BEV - I wish I could give you an internet hug! Your comment made me take a step back from it being a food storage container. I started digging a little more! It's more likely to be what they call an albarello. It's a cylindrical vessel used to hold dry medicines, spices, etc. The lip is for grasping the jar off of a "pharmacy" shelf. Was not meant to hold liquid as there is no pouring spout. Amazing!

Edit: Albarellos were designed to look attractive on the shelf and were a symbol of stature - thus the effort in the artwork.

 

Thank you so much!!! The legwork has been so rewarding. It makes it so much more fun to share it with this group!

 

Hobbits, who knew?

Think a container for storing anything would have a lid. I see no evidence this ever had one. I see a nice, bright green vase.

 

You are right! It did not have a lid. In fact, if it did have evidence of a lid or no lip for grasping, it would not be an albarello container by definition. (If you look up antique or primitive albarello jar, there are lots of examples. I'm sure some later ones did have lids). Quickly quoting Wikipedia although there are other sources as well, ".... The jars were generally sealed with a piece of parchment or leather tied with a piece of cord."

Also, as I said in my original post, the jar is actually dark green. So dark that I would not have been able to capture the graffito design, so I intentionally used a flash. Therefore, I can see why you'd think it was a bright green vase. But it is not.

 

I don't think this jar made it to its intended purpose as a pharmacy "medicine" jar (term used loosely). From what I understand, medicine jars (over time) began to stink ... so they'd get thrown out. So I had to ask myself why wasn't this one? And why did it survive in such good condition? Well folks, as I was taking my last round of pictures, I noticed something that might answer that question - there is an area on the jar were the leaves are missing and I don't think that was intentional. Actually, I had noticed it before, but I didn't put two and two together. I always wondered why it had an X on the bottom (shows in above pics). It dawned on me that, along with the X, the jar may have been a reject for sale. However, the artisan, spending so much time on it, probably wasn't about to throw it away.

 

I was in the process of making some observations about the Met's collection of albarelli. See you are backing away from that hypothesis.

Has it been established that this is hand, not factory, produced?

 

I'm sorry, I truly don't understand the question. Am I backing away from the hypothesis of it being an albarellli? No. I was saying that it may not have been used for its INTENDED purpose because of the noted flaw as I described above. Meaning it was rejected for sale (hence the X).

As far as the sgrafitto work? I'm very confident it's by hand. As far as the piece itself? Molding? It has pretty "crude" mold lines indicating that it had to have been produced after the English introduced the molding techniques to the German settlers. Whether it was done in a factory or not? I have no idea.