By Associated Press
Maysville, KY – The 8-gallon churn was made and decorated in Maysville by Isaac Thomas in 1836. Case Antiques Inc., which sold the piece, said it "is the earliest known marked piece of Kentucky pottery."
The Knoxville auction house said the price at the Oct. 16 sale was a record for a piece of Kentucky pottery sold at auction.
Case Antiques told The Ledger Independent in Maysville that the piece was consigned by someone from East Tennessee and that the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C., purchased the churn.
The butter churn is decorated with a cobalt flower sprig and marked "Kentucky 1836" in cobalt script. It is stamped "I Thomas" for Maysville potter Isaac Thomas. Case Antiques President John Case said Thomas' skill level as a potter is comparable to that of Paul Revere as a silversmith.