Outstanding Redware Pottery Face Jug, Ontario, circa 1880

Spring 2020 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 98

Price Realized: $2,640.00

($2,200 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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Outstanding Glazed Redware Face Jug, Ontario, Canada origin, circa 1880, ovoid jug with tooled shoulder and tapered spout, decorated with a hand-modeled and applied clay face, featuring eyelids fitted with pierced eyes, pronounced eyebrows with incised details, a nose with carved nostrils, ears, and an open-mouth with subtly-carved teeth. Surface covered in a striking mulberry-colored glaze, composed of lead and manganese poured over a slip-coated surface. A decreasing flow of concentration of this glaze from the shoulder to the base creates wonderful variations in the colors produced. This glaze treatment is among the more sophisticated that we have seen in North American redware, reminiscent of a style employed by Pennsylvania master potter, John Bell. The object's applied face creates an important work of folk expression, which transcends the ceramic medium. This jug is among the finest examples of Canadian redware to come to auction in years, and among the most brilliantly-glazed North American face vessels that we are aware of. Provenance: Ex-Ron Korman; Ex-Robert Girouard; Ex-Peter Brams Collection. Missing handle. Loss to one ear. Shallow chipping to opposite ear. A small chip to one eyebrow. A minor base chip and tiny spout chip on reverse. H 9 1/4".