STORAGE JAR

The earliest potter to produce stoneware south of Virginia was Andrew Duché, whose father Anthony (c. 1682 - 1762) had established a “Pott-House” on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia by 1725. Andrew probably moved to Charleston, South Carolina, during the fall or winter of 1734 and immediately began constructing a kiln and searching for clay sources. On April 5, 1735, he advertised in the South Carolina Gazette: “butter pots, milk-pans, and all other sorts of Earthen ware of this Country make… at much cheaper rate than can be imported.” Duché’s residence in Charleston was relatively brief, and in August 1736, he began renting a house in Savannah, Georgia. Under the patronage of General James Edward Oglethorpe (1696-1785), Duché “completed his Pot Works in 1738.” Duché continued to produce utilitarian earthenware and stoneware at his Savannah manufactory, while simultaneously attempting to make porcelain.

Although there is no evidence that his experiments were successful, they may have led to Duché’s discovery of kaolin, an essential ingredient for the manufacture of porcelain. MESDA’s earthenware storage jar is stamped “AD” and may have been made at either his Charleston or Savannah pottery. Aside from this jar, the only other ceramics associated with Duché are stoneware sherds from the Frederica archeological site at St. Simon’s Island, Georgia.