Scarce 3 Gal. COWDEN & WILCOX / HARRISBURG, PA Stoneware Jar w/ Elaborate Bird Scene

Spring 2020 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 86

Price Realized: $2,880.00

($2,400 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 4 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.

Spring 2020 Auction Catalog

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Scarce Three-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Elaborate Cobalt Bird-on-Branch Decoration, Stamped "COWDEN & WILCOX / HARRISBURG, PA," circa 1865, ovoid jar with tooled shoulder, stepped rim, and applied lug handles, decorated with a large brushed design of a bird perched in a well-detailed tree branch. The size of the design and its coverage across the jar's front are noteworthy. The depiction of delicate leaves emanating from the branches as well as an additional branch extending behind the bird are both unusual aspects of the design's composition. As most Cowden bird motifs depict the bird with a triangularly-outlined beak, the thin bill on this bird suggests a particular species, perhaps a dove. Among the better bird designs that we have offered by this iconic Central Pennsylvania pottery. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, which surfaced over twenty-five years ago in Williamsport, PA. A thin sealed crack descending from a small chip at rim to midsection on front. Reverse with a shallow 3/4" base chip and other minor base chips. A minor, 1 1/2" Y-shaped surface line to front, not visible on interior.