Very Rare Six-Gallon Stoneware Churn with Elaborate Strutting Turkey Decoration, Stamped "J. BURGER JR. / ROCHESTER, N.Y.," circa 1885, tall, slightly ovoid churn with flaring rim and applied handles, decorated in slip-trailed cobalt with a large strutting turkey with turned head. Turkey depicted with an attention to artistic detail, with long plume-like tail feathers composed of numerous strokes, spotted body, and shading to the breast and neck. With one leg raised, a sense of movement is given to the bird, as if it is in a strutting or scratching stance. Turkey is situated on a patch of ground flanked by grasses and shrubbery. Slip-trailed cobalt "6" to right of maker"s mark. John Burger and John Burger, Jr., are known to have produced some of the finest examples of slip-trailed, figural-decorated stoneware known, including pieces with lions, deer, horses, and various types of birds. This is one decoration that we have not seen in their work before. Y-shaped crack on underside, which divides and continues up side of churn and around the back. Crack also branches to the left and right at base. H 19 3/4".
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