Very Rare "Croton / 1849" Stoneware Pitcher attrib. Smith & Day, Norwalk, CT

Summer 2021 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 49

Price Realized: $450.00

($375 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

◀︎ Back to Catalog

▶ Login

Very Rare Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Pitcher, Inscribed "Croton / 1849," attributed to Smith & Day, Norwalk, CT, 1849, ovoid pitcher the tall, flaring collar, inscribed in dark cobalt slip, "Croton / 1849." The form and color of this pitcher lead to a firm attribution to the partnership of Smith & Day of Norwalk, Connecticut. The Smith family is known for producing a number of popular redware dishes with yellow-slip inscriptions of names, foods, political figures, and religious sayings. This treatment, however, rarely extended into this family's stoneware production. This pitcher is one exception. The name, Croton, refers to Croton-on-Hudson, a village located forty miles Northwest of Norwalk in the town of Cortlandt, part of suburban New York City. Croton-on-Hudson was named after the Croton River, New York City's primary water supply beginning in 1842. The village was incorporated in 1898. Handle is painted, implying some restoration of some sort, although appears largely original. A small restored rim chip with an unrestored 4 1/2" line descending from it. A small glazed-over rim chip to left of spout. A tiny glazed-over rim nick on reverse and a tiny post-firing rim nick on reverse. A small in-the-firing surface chip (contact mark) to left side of pitcher and a small in-the-firing iron ping near base. H 11 1/4".