Rudolph Christ (28 February 1750 – 26 July 1833) was a German potter. He was a noted figure of the Moravian community in today's Old Salem, North Carolina, where he was master potter between 1789 and 1821.
Rudolph Christ | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 February 1750 Lauffen am Neckar, Germany |
| Died | 26 July 1833 (aged 83) Salem, North Carolina U.S. |
| Nationality | German |
Early life
editChrist was born in Lauffen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in 1750.[1] He emigrated with his parents, Rudolph Sr. and Anna Wolfer, to Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, around 1753.[2]
Career
editBy 1766, when he was sixteen years of age, Christ had moved to the American colony of the Province of North Carolina, where he was working as an apprentice for compatriot Gottfried Aust, master potter in Bethabara. It is believed there was a lot of friction between them throughout their careers.[2][3]
Christ moved to Salem, Province of North Carolina, in 1789,[1] after the death of Aust. He remained there until his retirement in 1821.[4] He held several civic roles, including being on the Congregation Council and the Aufseher Collegium.[2]
His press-molded figural bottle has become the a much sought-after form of the North Carolina Moravian pottery.[2]
In 2016, Christ's kiln in Old Salem was excavated.[5]
Personal life
editIn 1780, Christ married Elisabeth Oesterlein, who founded Salem Academy. They had five children together: Anna Elizabeth, Benigna Elizabeth, Friedrich Jacob, Johann Rudolph and Anna Sulamith. Each child died very young, with Friedrich living the longest (to the age of 8).[2]
He became a widower upon the death of Elizabeth in 1802, aged 53. He remarried, to Anna Christina Blum, in 1803. They had four children: Anna, Jacob Rudolph, Traugott Frederick and one who died at birth.[2]
Death
editChrist died in 1833, aged 83. He is interred in Old Salem's God's Acre Moravian Cemetery, alongside his first wife.
References
edit- ^ a b r2WPadmin. "Gottfried Aust (1722-1788) and Rudolph Christ (1750-1833): Moravian Potters in North Carolina". Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f "Gottfried Aust (1722-1788) and Rudolph Christ (1750-1833): Moravian Potters in North Carolina". Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ "Episode 7: The Potter Is in! | Historic Bethabara Park". historicbethabara.org. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ "The Ceramic Ware of the Potter Rudolph Christ at Bethabara and Salem, North Carolina, 1786-1821" – University of South Carolina, August 1970
- ^ "Team Excavates Kiln of Noted Potter in Old Salem". Winston-Salem Journal. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2023.