Eight Gallon Stoneware Churn, 1850-1875

This butter churn was made of a durable, leak-proof pottery called stoneware, shaped on a potter's wheel. The orange-peel-like outer glaze was created when the potter threw handfuls of common rock salt into a white-hot kiln during the piece's firing. Salt-glazed stoneware pieces were decorated with an amazing array of designs, including the unusual acrobat and horse on this piece.