This beautiful crock with an applied handle and mottled dark brown glaze stands approx. 11 ½” tall. It is 6 ¼” in diameter at the base.  Overall, in very fine condition; has minor surface wear, most noticeable at the edges of the base. There is one small chip on the bottom along the edge which measures approx. ¾” in width at the widest point.  Other similar looking crocks by Bell are noted to have a manganese and lead glaze. Stamped “JOHN BELL / WAYNESBORO” on the shoulder.

John Bell was the most famous potter from the Shenandoah Valley area. Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, he was trained by his father, Peter Bell, and influenced by Hagerstown’s large and active community of immigrant potters. Located in southern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley was an area abundant with rich earthenware and stoneware clay deposits, and its pottery tradition dates to at least the mid-eighteenth century. By 1833 John Bell had moved to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania and established a small but successful pottery business which continued to grow as his own sons (he and his wife had nine children) joined the shop. His brothers and his sons were largely responsible for disseminating the pottery tradition throughout the valley. For the most part his pottery produced utilitarian items such as crocks, pitchers, and flowerpots.

John Bell died in 1880 as a well-respected craftsman, but not yet a nationally known artist. One of his sons, John William Bell, took over his father’s business and ran it until his death in 1895. Other Bell children later carried the torch, including daughter Henrietta, but after a Waynesboro fire in 1899, the local business was eventually snuffed out. The Bell’s Waynesboro pottery shop was located at the southwest corner of Main and Potomac Streets, but their building no longer exists. By 1915, the Bell family pottery operation faded into history.  [ld] [ph:L]

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