Exceptional Stoneware Figure of a Dog with Three-Color Glaze, attrib. Donaghho, Parkersburg, WV

Summer 2020 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 181

Price Realized: $1,560.00

($1,300 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.

Summer 2020 Auction Catalog

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Exceptional Large-Sized Stoneware Figure of a Dog with Three-Color Glaze, attributed to the Donaghho Pottery, Parkersburg, WV, circa 1890, hand-modeled figure of a reclining dog on oblong base with carved, serrated edge. Animal is nicely-depicted with raised ears, curled tail, carved paws, incised fur, and open mouth with lolling tongue. Surface of dog decorated with mottled Bristol and Albany slips, including a cobalt pupil brushed onto the dog's remaining eye. Base decorated with haphazard cobalt brushwork over a Bristol slip ground. Edge of base and underside coated in Albany slip. The three-color glaze scheme closely relates this figure to a very rare, molded stoneware spaniel made by potter, Ben Taylor, at the A.P. Donaghho pottery of Parkersburg, West Virginia, which bore the incised signature and abbreviations, "BEN TAYLOR / D.P. / P. W.VA." Also common among the two figures is the distinctive, sparse application of the Bristol slip, which reveals a buff, underlying base clay. Noteworthy in its size, glaze, and hand-modeled construction, this object is regarded as one of the greatest stoneware folk sculptures that we have ever offered and a masterwork of West Virginia figural stoneware. Missing one eye. Loss to end of tongue. A chip to each ear. Minor chipping to base. L 13 1/2 " W 7" ; H 6 1/2".