Antique 19th Century Piggin Staved Bucket with Primitive Gourds

This antique "piggin" was considered a necessity for early farm life as it served a purpose acting as a large grain scoop to possibly scatter feed for the chickens, pour grain into either a sack or barrel and also served as a milk bucket. During the colonial era some buckets were fashioned as small barrels. However one stave was much longer than the others. This special carved stave, used as a handle, helped facilitate the job of scooping grain with less effort. Piggins are getting harder to find as the demand for barrels and buckets these days has risen tremendously! When I found this bucket apparently it had been in pieces and had to be put back together by the previous owner. He did an amazing job and this sturdy piece should survive quite nicely for another 100 years. After I purchased this unique find I decided to paint the galvanized bands a rich chocolate color that appropriately mimics the period dark banding. Many of the bands on buckets such as this one would eventually have