This New York stoneware jug is stamped below the spout
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WHITE'S UTICA
It was made at the pottery of Noah White and his sons in Utica, New York, circa 1860 to 1880.
The front of this jug is decorated with a large, turned-head parrot atop a flowering vine.
The parrot is highly detailed in cobalt using a variety of techniques: the breast
and neck are striped, the wing is dotted, and the crest, upper wing, and tail, are filled completely
with cobalt blue. The vine, which the bird is perched upon, is embellished with leaves and a morning
glory-like flower head. The color contrast between the cobalt and the clay is excellent. White's Utica
bird jugs are most often found with a paddle-tailed bird on a similar vine.
This type of bird, painted in such an elaborate style, is quite unusual for this, or basically any, Northern factory.
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