Pottery Jug marked Made by students at Tuskegee Inst. Does this have value?

[mczark]

I have this potter jug that's about 10 inches tall and is glazed pink on the inside. The bottom is marked Made by Students at Tuskegee Inst Pottery. I'm wondering if this item has any real value. I found one other like it in a museum collection, but that doesn't help my with value. I have found some info about the pottery and it's a very interesting story. The only items I've found that sold online were a set of 4 items that sold for around 200.00. So maybe this is worth 50.00? The lip on this jug reminds me and my wife both of a certain unmentionable body part. But I'm sure that wasn't the point here, just the color....

[janetpjohn_la · Accepted solution]

Maybe contact the Birmingham Museum of Art to see if they want to buy it.
Janet

[sonomabarn67]

How much will the museum pay for it? Is it the only one?

[janetpjohn_la]

They don't seem to have a lot in their collection. Who knows if that is by choice.
Janet

[md1919]

I am a colleague of the author of a books on college produced art pottery.  when he contacted Tuskegee for information and access to records, the university was uninterested in making the history of the pottery known.

[mczark]

 "the university was uninterested in making the history of the pottery known." Wow! The only other time I've really ever heard "Tuskegee" was in reference to the Airmen. That was a very dark point in our history. 

md1919, have you learned much about the Tuskegee Inst. pottery? I'm guessing their reluctance to filling in history is a big part of why I couldn't find much of this history.

[md1919]

no, I know nothing other than what is already out there.  it appears the university could care less about the history of ceramics there.

[mopata]

Pottery collecting tends to be regional. A piece from a given area tends to be primarily collected in that area. I think a lot of collectors of Alabama pottery or, more generally, Southern pottery would have interest in this piece. There is also the potential for crossover interest with collectors of Black Americana and those who collect items related to Tuskegee itself. I'm not saying that this makes it super valuable but, you shouldn't have any problem finding it a good home.

[argon38]

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@mczark wrote:

The only items I've found that sold online were a set of 4 items that sold for around 200.00.

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I'm not sure if you have seen this individual pitcher on Worthpoint - same design, but not pink:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tuskegee-institute-alabama-student-219679424

I don't have a Worthpoint account, so I don't know how much it fetched. (I read somewhere recently that Worthpoint gives the Buy It Now price of an item even if a lower Best Offer price was accepted, which doesn't seem very helpful for a paid service).

The Worthpoint pitcher is dated 1954, and this green example is dated 1953:

https://gramha.net/media/1830172593817078660