Very Rare Hugh R. Marshall Stoneware Jar, Fredericksburg or Rockbridge County, VA, c1830

Summer 2020 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 44

Price Realized: $1,320.00

($1,100 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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Very Rare Three-Gallon Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Jar, attributed to Hugh R. Marshall, Fredericksburg, VA or Rockbridge Baths Pottery, Rockbridge County, VA, circa 1830, ovoid jar with semi-squared rim and applied tab handles, decorated on one side with a slip-trailed "3" within a wavy border and on the reverse with a brushed circle. Cobalt highlights over tops of handles. The form and handle construction of this jar is closely-related to that found on the few known signed examples of Hugh R. Marshall stoneware from Baltimore. Similarities can also be drawn from the placement of cobalt over the tops of the handles and its simplistic decoration at the shoulder. The clay, however, is clearly Virginia, indicating this jar was likely made by Marshall while working in Virginia. Sherds bearing his incised signature on the underside are some of the few relics of his activity there. In recent years, Marshall has gained notoriety as his Fredericksburg, Virginia site was uncovered, yielding some marked and decorated sherds of similar style to this lot. One of the few intact pieces of Hugh R. Marshall stoneware made during his tenure in Fredericksburg or Rockbridge County, Virginia. Very nice condition with a tight Y-shaped crack on underside and some chips to one handle.