Rare 1/2 Gal. H. C. SMITH / ALEXA. / D.C. Stoneware Pitcher with Profuse Cobalt Floral Decoration

October 17, 2015 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 455A

Price Realized: $1,725.00

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

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 9 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.

October 17, 2015 Auction Catalog

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Rare Half-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher with Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped "H.C. SMITH / ALEXA / D.C.," circa 1840, small-sized, squat-formed pitcher with ovoid body, footed base, tooled midsection, and squared rim molding. Decorated around the circumference of the body with a boldly-brushed, sweeping tulip design, along with an additional foliate motif on reverse. Additional foliate brushwork to collar. Cobalt dashes to spout. Cobalt highlights to handle terminals. Impressed at the midsection with the mark of Alexandria, VA merchant, Hugh Charles Smith, below a half-gallon capacity mark. This recently-discovered example is potted in unusually-small pitcher form with an appealing, short and bulbous body style. Its bright cobalt decoration against a light-gray clay ground is difficult-to-find among known Smith products, which tended to be darker in coloration. One of the finest examples of signed Smith stoneware we have offered in recent years. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, recently discovered in a Midwestern home. Heavy chipping to spout. A horizontal crack to lower handle terminal, including two shallow flakes along crack line. Small base chips. H 8".