Rare 6 Gal. J. KEISTER & CO. / STRASBURG, VA Stoneware Jar w/ Cobalt Floral Decoration

July 16, 2016 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 117

Price Realized: $1,265.00

($1,100 hammer, plus 15% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 8 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 16, 2016 Auction Catalog

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Rare Six-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Elaborate Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped "J. KEISTER & CO. / STRASBURG, VA", circa 1870, large-sized, ovoid jar with tooled shoulder, squared rim, and ribbed lug handles, decorated with a stem extending around its midsection bearing large fanned flowers and graduated leaves. Impressed under one handle with the maker's mark of Jeremiah Keister above a six-gallon capacity mark. While Keister's father, Adam, is well-known for his large-sized jars, relatively few examples of Jeremiah Keister stoneware are known above three gallons in capacity. This jar is the largest example of J. Keister & Company stoneware we have seen. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, recently found in Texas. An approximately 5 1/2" crack from rim. Shallow chips and wear to rim, including a 1 1/4" chip to top of rim, probably in-the-firing. A 5" in-the-firing line on underside, which extends onto base area of jar, barely visible on interior. A chip to end of one handle and a 2" in-the-firing dry spot (contact mark) below. A chip to opposite handle. Some traces of old paint to surface, primarily on top of rim and interior. H 16 1/2".