BOBBY FERGUSON GEORGIA SOUTHERN FOLK POTTERY PITCHER!!!

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Up for auction is a Southern Folk Pottery, Gillsville, Georgia, Bristol Glaze and Blue Striped Pitcher, Made and Signed by Bobby Ferguson, circa mid 1970's. This is an absolute pristine mint condition pitcher turned and burned by 5th generation folk potter Bobby Ferguson(1933 to 2005). He learned to throw pottery on a wheel from his folk pottery family elders as a young child. Bobby got away from turning pots full-time for awhile and he was involved in a family owned trucking business. Some of the hauling he did was for other potteries from Georgia and even Texas. The evidence is in front of you that pottery was still in his blood because he eventually he went back to it full time until he passed away. I had a couple folk pottery pitchers I had come across and I was intrigued that they both had the "F" stamped in them. I took the pieces to one of the Meaders Family Pottery Festivals in Mossy Creek, Georgia and it was t that I met several of the surviving Ferguson family members who are still making traditional southern folk pottery. Both Bobby's widow and son confirmed the mark was his. If you were to look on page 238 of John Burrison's book "Brothers in Clay...." about Georgia Folk Pottery you can see Bobby standing in front of a new gas-fired kiln he just built in 1978. He is pictured with one of his sons and a grandson. I bring this up because I was told most of the pieces like this one stamped with an "F" (if not all of them) were actually fired in a small basement shop he had when he was transitioning from trucking to potting again. This would also be from before the kiln was built. This is a superb example of that early period. T are absolutly no chips or cracks of any kind with in this piece. T is no glaze crazing or staining either. T are flaws, but these are all "factory flaws" as we commonly call them and this is to be expected with any hand turned, hand glazed, utilitarian, folk and studio art pottery. This pitcher looks just like it was removed from a time machine that brought it back from the mid 1970's some thirty years later to today. I have given you plenty of photos and you can see what a gem this pitcher is. I was also told that Bobby looked upon this period as an experimental time as well. I am not sure just how much of this type of ware is out t and especially done with this style. This pitcher is somewhat reminiscent of the stoneware type pottery you would find farther north, but a good bit was made this way in Georgia too. This is especially true of the Atlanta-Fulton County Folk Potters. I had a similar pitcher to this one that I showed the Fergusons and son Stanley said, "this is the rarer of the 2 pitchers, but the brown glazed one is more sought after". The other one like this one was not chipped or cracked either, but glaze was flaking off and t It looks like Bobby got that straightened out by the time he made this one. This pitcher is 6 7/8 inches tall and the base is 4 1/4 inches across. Across the top of the pitcher it is 4 1/8 inches and the inside opening is 3 1/2 inches. This pretty much tells you the walls are a nice heavy 3/8 of an inch thick. The pitcher actually looks to made of a stoneware type clay and weighs in at a hefty 2 pounds, 2 ounces. You can see it is stamped with the Ferguson, "F" and t is a "3" inscribed in ito the clay and Bobby may be the only one who ever knew what that was for. This is great piece of Georgia (Southern) Folk Pottery from a Master Folk Potter who no longer blesses are presence. His wares are only going to become scarcer and harder to find, so you should acquire this beautiful example while you still can. THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AND BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER LISTINGS! read more

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