Top-lot status was awarded to this two-gallon decorated jug by Thomas Chandler, Edgefield, S.C., which was marked with a “2” inside of a looping design; it realized $4,320 ($2/3,000).

Review by Kiersten Busch

ATHENS, GA. — On January 24, Cagle Auction Company conducted its 256-lot Southern Pottery & Folk Art Auction. The sale sold 98 percent by lot and totaled just under $121,000.

The highest price of the day, $4,320, was realized by a two-gallon decorated jug by Thomas Chandler of Edgefield, S.C. The kaolin jug was decorated with the number “2” inside of a looping design, and the jug had no chips or cracks. It was listed as “premium collector grade” and “worthy of any museum collection” in the catalog notes.

Following closely behind to earn the second-highest price of the sale was a Washington County, Ga., decorated three-gallon jar with a rich iron wash glaze. It was signed “LJ” on its shoulder in script, denoting that it was the work of Lucius Jordan. Other decorations included wavy and concentric lines, and it stood 13¾ inches tall. Far surpassing its $850-$1,600 estimate, the jug earned $3,420.

Two jars by Clete & Billy Meaders crossed the block, with a grape-decorated eight-gallon jar made circa 1997 earning the higher price at $3,360. According to catalog notes, this was “the only example Cagle Auction has ever offered,” and the jar was in “collector grade condition.” Also in similar condition was the second Clete & Billy Meaders jug, a 9¾-inch-tall Southern folk pottery devil face jug made in 1998, which earned $450, reaching its low estimate ($450/700).

Earning a succulent $3,360 was this grape-decorated eight-gallon jar by Clete & Billy Meaders, circa 1997, 19⅞ inches tall, which was the only example Cagle had ever offered ($850-$1,200).

Several additional face jugs earned top prices during the sale, including an early period Brown Pottery two-gallon example from Atlanta, made somewhere between the 1890s and 1900. Featuring a “classic” Brown Pottery facial design done with slip glaze, auction catalog notes further explain that it was “the earliest known face jug” and potentially the largest known from Georgia. It was purchased at a Macon, Ga., flea market more than 45 years ago and remained in a private collection until this sale, where it was passed on to a new owner for $3,120.

Also of particular note were two face jugs by Lanier Meaders, which realized $2,160 and $1,680, respectively. The former, which had a row of clay teeth, detailed eyebrows and other facial details, had an all-over drip glaze and stood at 10¼ inches tall in excellent condition. The latter had a more yellowish coloring to its glaze, as well as a larger nose and smaller chin than the previous example; it stood 8⅝ inches tall. Two other Lanier Meaders face jugs sold, both at $1,020, as well as a one-gallon pitcher ($198), a baking dish ($150) and a lot containing two creamers and two cups ($120).

All three jugs by enslaved potter Dave Drake of Edgefield, S.C., offered in the sale sold for $2,400 each, including a five-gallon storage jar with a crawling alkaline glaze crafted in the 1850s. Catalog notes explained, “the crawling [glaze] is due to extreme heat in the kiln and flashing the jar, which causes the glaze to crawl.” It was marked as a collector-grade example and had some very old rim restoration done. Next was a four-gallon Drake example in the potter’s classic lug handle design. It hailed from the B.F. Landrum site and had a “4” slashed into its shoulder. The final example was a marked two-gallon jar, most likely from the early period of the B.F. Landrum site. It had provenance to a South Carolina collection and was previously restored to museum standards.

Standing 18 inches tall and crossing the block for $2,880 was this Sand Mountain, Ala., decorated and double dipped five-gallon jug discovered at a Banks County, Ga., estate ($2/5,000).

Several Sand Mountain (Ala.) Pottery jugs and pots of different sizes crossed the block, ranging in price from $84 for an Alabama unglazed flowerpot, to $2,880 for a Sand Mountain decorated and double dipped five-gallon jug. A new discovery fresh to the market from a Banks County, Ga., estate, the latter jug had a two-row wavy comb decoration and a gassy alkaline double dip glaze. Another notable Sand Mountain jug was an example made by TJ Henry, which far surpassed its $825-$1,500 estimate to make $2,040. The two-gallon double handled jug was heavily decorated with a wavy comb pattern and had a golden honey and butterscotch alkaline glaze.

Folk pottery was led by a 24¼-inch-tall figural of an African American woman by Lin Craven, which was made in 2005 and cataloged as “rare,” due to its mint condition. Five folk art pottery animals by Billy Ray Hussey also drew bidder attention, with prices ranging from $210 for an early period lion sculpt to $900 for a colorful rooster.

The highest price for non-pottery folk art — $900 — was achieved by “Red Dot Chicks,” a painting on wood by John “Cornbread” Anderson of North Georgia. Featuring four red chicks stacked upon one another’s backs, the painting measured 24 by 8 inches and was signed “Cornbread.”

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 850-736-1802 or www.cagleauction.com.