Slip-Decorated Redware Plate, Shenandoah Valley (Strasburg, VA)

March 08, 2008 Stoneware Auction

Price Realized: $25,300.00 (Price includes 15% buyer's premium).

Extremely Rare Shenandoah Valley Slip-Decorated Redware Plate, attributed to J. Eberly & Co. or S. Bell & Son, Strasburg, VA, circa 1890, drape-molded plate with coggled edge, decorated with alternating green and cream-colored slip-trailed flowerheads, separated by crossed manganese chain links. Lead-glazed surface. Note that the green flowerheads were created by brushing green copper slip over cream-colored slip, thereby achieving a greater brilliance than would normally be achieved by simply brushing green over orange clay. This style of flowerhead is most commonly associated with the Eberly Pottery, and is found on both redware and stoneware items made by this company. However, the identical flowerhead can be found on some examples attributed to or signed by the Bells, including a rare stoneware jug with boy's head finial attributed to Polk Bell, currently in the collection of the Metropolitcan Museum of Art. Surviving Strasburg plates are virtually non-existent, except for a few modestly-decorated examples in Wiltshire and Comstock. The highly distinctive flowerheads on this example allow for a firm attribution to Strasburg, Virginia. From a sixty-year Midwestern collection. A few shallow rim chips. D 7 3/4".

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