Extremely Rare Bristol County, Massachusetts Redware Keg w/ Yellow Slip Bird Designs

Spring 2021 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 36

Price Realized: $2,520.00

($2,100 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 3 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 2021 Auction Catalog

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Extremely Rare and Important Glazed Redware Rundlet with Yellow-Slip Bird Decoration, Bristol County, MA origin, late 18th or early 19th century, small-sized keg with tooled banding and applied spout at midsection, the lead-glazed surface decorated with streaks of manganese over a vibrant orange and red ground. Top and bottom of keg decorated in cream-colored slip with a slip-trailed design of a bird. Featuring distinctive Bristol County glaze and color, this rundlet is made exceptional by the addition of bird motifs on each end. The use of slip-trailed decoration in the Bristol County potting tradition is essentially unknown. In addition, while bird motifs are commonly seen in the work of Pennsylvania-German redware potters, few such designs can be found on pieces made in New England. Bristol County, Massachusetts redware ranks among the most highly valued in New England redware production. This work's unusual form and even rarer figural decorative make it a noteworthy recent discovery. Provenance: Recently surfaced in New England. Surface chips and exfoliation. Loss to spout. Chips to one end. Minor chipping to opposite end. H 6" ; Diam. (at midsection) 4 1/4".