Exceedingly Rare Stoneware Jar w/ Impressed Dove-of-Peace Motif, att. Jonathan Fenton, Boston (Only Known Example)

Summer 2021 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 177

Price Realized: $1,560.00

($1,300 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.

Summer 2021 Auction Catalog

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Exceedingly Rare Stoneware Jar with Impressed Dove of Peace Decoration, attributed to Jonathan Fenton, Boston, MA, late 18th century, ovoid jar with open loop handles and tooling to shoulder and rim, decorated on the front with an impressed and cobalt-highlighted design of a well-detailed, flying dove with olive branch in its beak. Reverse decorated with an impressed and cobalt-highlighted floral motif typical of the work of Boston, Massachusetts potter, Jonathan Fenton. This previously-undocumented jar features the only Dove of Peace stamp that we have seen on an example of Boston area stoneware. The motif is based on the Biblical story of Noah releasing a dove from his ark and the bird returning with an olive leaf in its beak, indicating the flood waters had receded. The image has come to symbolize peace. The use of this design on a shortly post-Colonial American-made jar may be symbolic of America's time of peace following the Revolution. During the same period, a related representation of this design served as the weathervane on George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. A significant recent discovery in early Boston area pottery. Provenance: Recently surfaced in New Jersey. Base chips. A network of tight cracks to bottom half of jar on front. A very large U-shaped crack from rim on reverse. Study of this damage indicates this section was not reglued. An in-the-firing contact mark to right of flower motif. Three tiny rim nicks. H 8 1/4".