Outstanding Twenty-Gallon Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Jar with Stenciled Eagle Motif, Stenciled "J. HAMILTON & CO. / GREENSBORO, PA", circa 1875, large-sized jar with tooled shoulder, semi-rounded rim, and applied lug handles, decorated with stenciled design of a spread-winged Federal eagle clutching arrows and spears in its talons and holding a banner in its beak, inscribed "EAGLE POTTERY". Decorated above with freehand stripes and vining, and below with stylized stenciled floral or cornucopia motifs. Bottom half of jar stenciled with the maker's mark, "J. HAMILTON & CO. / GREENSBORO, PA", along with various stenciled flourishes. Base inscribed "20" in cobalt, flanked by stenciled rose motifs, and underscored by a freehand stripe. Cobalt highlights to handle terminals. Exceptional size, featuring a visually-appealing combination of stenciled and freehand elements, surviving in remarkable condition. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with a shallow, glazed-over flake to one handle. This exceptional state of preservation is rarely found on Western Pennsylvania jars of this size. H 25".
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