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 10 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".