Rare Western PA Stoneware Spaniel Figure

March 2, 2013 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 242

Price Realized: $2,530.00

($2,200 hammer, plus 15% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 11 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.

March 2, 2013 Auction Catalog

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Very Rare Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Figure of a Spaniel on Base, Western PA or possibly West Virginia origin, circa 1875, molded figure of a spaniel with incised eyes, nose, and mouth, seated on a molded base with raised floral design. Spaniel is decorated with cobalt brushwork on its head and over one eye, perhaps to represent the recipient's prized pet. Incised letter "L" between the two front legs, likely a reference to the maker or owner of the spaniel, or possibly the name of the actual dog this figure represents. A stoneware spaniel pictured on page 161 of Schaltenbrand's Big Ware Turners may be by the same hand. The distinctive steely gray color on this example is also reminiscent of pieces produced at the Thompson Pottery in Morgantown, WV, and could possibly have been made there, although we are unaware of any Morgantown examples to have surfaced. Made as doorstops or advertising pieces for merchants, the stoneware spaniel is one of the rarest stoneware items produced in the region. Four base chips. A few in-the-firing wrinkles in surface, which do not go through to interior. H 9".