In his seminal monograph The Moravian Potters in North Carolina (1972) decorative arts scholar John Bivins used archaeological evidence, surviving artifacts, and the Moravians’ meticulous records to illuminate the lives and work of potters active in Bethabara and Salem.1 The bulk of his study centered on shop masters Gottfried Aust (1722–1788), who established the first pottery in Bethabara, and his former apprentice Rudolph Christ (1750–1833), who took over Aust’s pottery in 1789. In Bivins’ view, Aust was the archetypal immigrant craftsman, wedded to Old World modes of earthenware production and decoration, whereas Christ was an innovator who developed his own decorative vocabulary in slipware and experimented with the manufacture of refined creamware, stoneware, and faience.
