B.C. MILBURN / ALEXA (Alexandria, VA) Four-Gallon Stoneware Jar Inscribed "Sample"

July 21, 2012 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 73

Price Realized: $1,725.00

($1,500 hammer, plus 15% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 12 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.

July 21, 2012 Auction Catalog

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Possibly Unique Four-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Brushed Floral Decoration, Inscribed "Sample," Stamped Under Handle "B.C. MILBURN / ALEXA," Alexandria, VA origin, circa 1850, squat-shaped ovoid jar with tooled shoulder, squared rim, and applied tab handles, decorated with brushed slip flowering vine across the front, featuring seven flowers of two varieties. Reverse slip-trailed with the large word "Sample," presumably indicating that this jar was a sample or test piece for the pottery. The color of the decoration and inscription on the jar suggests that the piece's decorator was testing a batch of slip, which was either manganese-based or insufficient in cobalt. This interesting jar is possibly the only example of Alexandria stoneware known with a slip-decorated word, and is revelatory of the processes potters underwent in making salable ware. Provenance: Recently discovered at a yard sale in the Washington, D.C. area. Inverted Y-shaped crack extending from rim on reverse. 2" triangular rim chip on reverse, and a smaller rim chip on interior of rim. Two tight cracks in underside. Small chip to end of one handle. H 13".