Extremely Scarce and Important Edgefield South Carolina Water Cooler

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American & Southern | March 26, 2026

By Brunk Auctions

Mar 26, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-03-26 10:00:00 2026-03-26 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American & Southern | March 26, 2026 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/brunk/american-southern-march-26-2026-20723
Edward Beyer’s panoramic view of Old Liberty (Bedford), VA; Edgefield SC stoneware; paintings by Robert Cottingham, Wolf Kahn, Nicolai Cikovsky, Thomas Sully, John Joseph Enneking, Robert Reid, Dana Pond, Willie Daniels, Alfred T Bricher, Colin Campbell Cooper; folk portraits; early 19th Century Charleston coin silver basket and silver by Tiffany, Gorham, Reed & Barton, and Kirk; Chinese export porcelain; a large collection of NC longrifles; American furniture including a Barnard Cermenati labeled mirror; Tiffany Favrile and Steuben Aurene glass, among others. Brunk Auctions support@brunkauctions.com

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• Lot Description

  Edgefield District, South Carolina, possibly circa mid 1820s to 1840s, possibly made at a Pottersville manufactory, or a Horse Creek Valley manufactory, and possibly attributed to either A.F. Brannon or Abram, monumental tapered lower body and shoulder ovoid form, dark brown and light brown double dipped washed alkaline glaze, long glaze runs down from shoulder of jug, series of stacked line runs around the side of jug from turning jug horizontally and spinning in the glazing process, apparent 3 in. capital "AB" in the glaze to front shoulder of jug, large applied arched 7 in. x 2 in. strap handles on opposing shoulders, 2 x 2-1/2 in. collared spout, 1-1/4 in. drain hole to lower base edge, 22-1/4 in. tall, 47-1/2 in. circumference

  Provenance: Private South Carolina Collection

   

  Note: This is a very rare and important new to the market find, one of very few large scale Edgefield District water coolers that are known, this is possibly the only known large scale surviving example of an Edgefield District water cooler not made by Thomas Chandler, A. F. Brannon was known to be active in the in the Pottersville, Horse Creek Valley area in the 1820''s, a jug with a similar glaze and a "Y" stamp on the base edge sold recently at the SFPCS August 2, 2025 sale, lot 233 with an A.F. Brannon attribution, see the SFPCS catalog 61 for more information, Abram was a known documented enslaved artisan in the Edgefield District, he is named in historical records from 1795 to1842 as being associated with various owners and stoneware manufactories associated with Pottersville, see Great & Noble Jar: Traditional Stoneware of South Carolina, by Cinda K. Baldwin, McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina, The University of Georgia Press, pg. 217; a few signed Abram pieces have turned up on forms with an "L. Miles" stamp, those pieces were manufactured at the Stoney Bluff Manufactory in Horse Creek Valley, for a sherd stamped "L. Miles" with a "Dave" and "Abram" signature from the Toussaint Collection see Hear Me Know: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield South Carolina, Adrienne Spinozzi, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Yale University Press, pg. 112, another example was offered at Ledbetter Auctions on May 14th, 2022, stamped "L. Miles" with an "ABrum" or "ABum" signature, the in the glaze "AB" mark on the cooler we offer here relates to the signature on the Ledbetter Auctions piece.

   

• Provenance

  Private South Carolina Collection

   

• Shipping Info

  • Purchased items will be available for pick up or shipping from our Asheville, North Carolina auction facility within ten business days of the auction, or will be assessed a storage fee of $5.00 per day, per item. Purchaser agrees that packing and shipping is done at the purchaser's risk and that the purchaser will pay in advance all packing expenses, materials, carrier fees and insurance charges. At our discretion, items will either be packed by an agent such as a packaging store or Brunk Auctions. Please allow two weeks for shipping after payment is received. Shipment of large items is the responsibility of the purchaser. We are happy to provide names of carriers and shippers if a purchaser so requests. Brunk Auctions will have no liability for any loss or damage to shipped items.

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• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.00 %
• Condition
  glaze voids and anomalies as made, three quarters of right handle restored, top quarter of handle original, sealed and stabilized 14 in. hairline up from base edge right of the drain hole to mid body of jar, top half of that hairline is miniscule, neither repair illuminate under black light, light surface wear, some minor glaze frits, thin 1/2 in. and 1/4 in. clay body chips to lower body, another 1/4 in. circular glaze chip to lower body, another thin 1/4 in. clay body chip to lower body, shallow 1/2 in. rim chip, overall very good surviving example of a rare form despite restoration, great presentation Note - Brunk Auctions makes every effort to offer accurate and thorough information, but encourages prospective bidders to inspect items in person whenever possible. Condition statements are provided as a courtesy for general guidance and should not be considered complete or definitive. They do not represent a warranty or assumption of liability by Brunk Auctions. Certain condition issues may not be specifically noted in the report but may be visible in the accompanying photographs, which are considered part of the overall condition report. Please refer to our Terms of Sale for complete information and contact us for additional photos or information as needed.