Faith, Fire, and Clay: Unearthing the Hidden Lives of Salem’s Moravian Potters
Cost:
$ 140.00 per personDuration:
1h 30minAbout this experience
Mondays, 2:00 – 3:30 pm
October 5 – November 16
This course explores the intersection of craft, piety, and social identity within the Moravian community of Salem, North Carolina, between 1771 and 1831. Drawing on recent archaeological excavations at Lot 38, we move beyond the simple aesthetics of earthenware to reveal a "community of practice" where faith and trade were inseparable. Participants will discover how master potters like Rudolph Christ introduced cutting-edge technologies to produce innovative wares like faience and stoneware to remain competitive in a post-Revolutionary marketplace. We will look beyond the master artisans to unearth the stories of apprentices, women, and enslaved craftsmen like Peter Oliver, whose skills were recognized even as social structures constrained them. By examining waster sherds, innovative kiln designs, kiln furniture, and detailed church records, we will see how these individuals navigated Salem’s "moral economy," blurring the lines between the sacred and the secular. This series offers a unique window into how the objects of everyday life—from coffee mugs to tobacco pipes—profoundly shaped the people who made and used them.
Week 1: The Theocratic Capital: Faith and the "Moral Economy" in Wachovia.
Week 2: Traditional Foundations: Gottfried Aust and the Birth of Salem Pottery.
Week 3: The Innovator: Rudolph Christ and the Expansion onto Lot 38.
Week 4: A Community of Practice: Apprentices, Journeymen, and Households.
Week 5: Agency and Inequality: The Remarkable Journey of Peter Oliver.
Week 6: The Science of Firing: Kiln Technology and "Unruly" Materials.
Week 7: Divestment and Continuity: The End of the Congregation Pottery.
Refund Policy
To receive a refund, a written request must be received 3 business days before the first class. A $25 processing fee will be deducted from the refund. Cancellation requests received less than 3 business days before the first class but before the second meeting will receive a 50% refund.
ALL written requests should be emailed to emeritus@spartanstrategiesinc.org or mailed to the address below.
Spartan Strategies, Inc.
Attn: Emeritus Society
5900 Summit Avenue, #201
Browns Summit, NC 27214
Your Host
Geoffrey Ryan Hughes is a lecturer and archaeologist at UNC Greensboro who earned his PhD from UNC Chapel Hill. His doctoral research focused on the post-1793 expansion of Salem’s congregation-owned pottery, combining historical records with extensive excavations on Lot 38. An expert in the intersection of craft, religion, and identity, Dr. Hughes has published research on Moravian artisans, including the life of African American potter Peter Oliver.