HAYES, Va. (WAVY) — Before tearing down a shed for a house building project, Johnie Hinson decided to see if there was anything of value inside. It was a massive pile of unsorted junk, as shown in photos he took. They found suitcases packed full of clothes, lots of dishes and even pocket knives. But one thing they did not expect to find — an intricate ceramic pedestal.
Hinson showed us the plot of land where the shed once stood. The searched it about two days before his friend Mitchel Hartman tore the property down to build a new home.
“I just kind of glanced in it,” Hinson said. “I saw some yard equipment. I said, ‘Let me see if there’s anything worthwhile.’ We found weed eaters. Twenty suitcases that looked like they were packed yesterday and ain’t nobody in this house for two years. And then I start looking around and I find this thing, and I said, ‘Woah, I like that.'”
“He’s pulling out all these things and Johnie’s the kind of guy that’s amazed by everything,” Hartman said. “So this was just a beautiful find.”
Hinson had initial trouble with providing a home for the pedestal.
“So I set it at my daughter’s house over in Hayes,” he said. “Six or eight days later, she calls me up and says, ‘Dad, get this piece of junk off my porch.'”
While finding it a place that is more out of sight and out of mind, Hinson noticed something carved on the top.
“Frederick Hurten Rhead, 1902.”
Rhead was a well renowned potter, celebrated for his detailed ceramic art. Thinking he might have accidentally dug up treasure, Hinson went digging for information. He spoke with staff at the Museum of Ceramics in East Liverpool, Ohio. They told him this is a credible find and it appears to be part of a larger ceramic piece. There is likely a vase to pair with the pedestal, “… and we have no clue where it’s at,” Hinson said. “And so, does the vase look like this? We don’t know.”
10 On Your Side spoke with the museum director to verify the story. Their staff assures our news team that this is a legitimate find. Rhead emigrated from the United Kingdom to the United States in 1902, the same year carved on the pedestal. The museum reveres this as a rare find, among the early work of Rhead. They note, his artistry vastly improved in the ensuing years.
A four-tile piece made by Rhead sold for more than $600,000 a few years ago. Another vase of his sold for just over $500,000. Who knows what the value of the pedestal could be — found in a shed full of junk.
“Whoever got this, I’m not sure they knew what they had, and they stuck it in the building, and like I said, nobody’s lived here for two years,” Hinson said.
He told 10 On Your Side, multiple art publications and auction houses reached out to him since, including National Shelley China Club and Kovels Antique Trader magazine.
Hinson said he is still thinking about the end goal for where he wants this to wind up. He just hopes it finds a good home.
