SPARKS, MD. — A rare Tennessee redware jar, attributed to C.A. Haun Pottery, Greene County, having crosshatched copper slip, outperformed its $15/25,000 estimate to attain $108,000, including buyer’s premium, at Crocker Farm’s winter auction of the Carole Wahler collection that ran January 21-31. The circa 1840-60 ovoid jar had a footed base, tall collar with semi-rounded rim and applied strap handles with impressed geometric and floral motifs at the terminals, while the shoulder was decorated with a coggled band of stylized foliate and geometric devices. The 13-inch-tall jar’s surface was decorated with brushed copper slip in a crosshatched pattern extending from the rim to the base and around the sides, including the handles, applied under a clear lead glaze. Christopher Alexander Haun (1821-1861) was a Union sympathizer during the Civil War who, on November 8, 1861, participated in the burning of a Confederate railroad bridge along Lick Creek in Greene County, Tennessee. The plan to burn nine bridges was reportedly supported by President Lincoln, but Haun, along with four other Union loyalist potters, were later captured, convicted of treason and hung by the Confederacy. Additional highlights from this auction will be featured in an upcoming issue.
