Lot #: 391
Price Realized: $708.00
($600 hammer, plus 18% buyer's premium)
PLEASE NOTE: This result is 6 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.
Extremely Rare Two-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher with Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped "A.J. WATSON", Northwestern PA origin, third quarter 19th century, ovoid pitcher with tooling to body and rim, decorated on the front with series of tulips emanating from a horizontal stem, and on the right side with a series of vertically-brushed tulips. Cobalt highlights to handle terminals. Shoulder impressed with "A.J. WATSON" maker's mark. A previously undocumented potter, Watson appears in an 1858 Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society publication as a stoneware manufacturer displaying his ware at that year's Fair of the Lawrence County Agricultural and Horticultural Society, held at New Castle. Watson received a $1 prize for his pottery (see illustration). This pitcher is the only example of his stoneware that we have seen. The rarity of this object is met with strong visual appeal in the pitcher's well-thrown form and folky floral brushwork. A smooth, shallow spout chip. Some shallow chipping to left side of collar. A hairline across underside. This line is visible on the interior and becomes a network of surface lines on the interior body of the pitcher, not visible on the exterior. A shallow in-the-firing base chip.
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