Very Rare W. NICHOLS / PO'KEEPSIE Decorated Stoneware Jug, Poughkeepsie, NY, c1823

Summer 2021 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 79

Price Realized: $2,040.00

($1,700 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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Very Rare Two-Gallon Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Jug, Stamped "W. NICHOLS. / PO'KEEPSIE.," NY State origin, circa 1823, ovoid jug with footed base, tooled shoulder, and squared spout, decorated with cobalt X's flanking the cobalt-highlighted maker's mark of William Nichols. Cobalt highlights to handle terminals. According to George H. Lukacs' book, Poughkeepsie Potters and the Plague, Nichols began stamping his ware with his own maker's mark upon acquiring his own pottery site in July of 1823. This mark would be used for only a few months, ending with the potter's untimely death on September 29, 1823, at the age of 25. (Lukacs, pp. 50-53.) Among the numerous Nichols stoneware objects in existence, very few signed examples are known. Provenance: Recently surfaced in NJ. A small base chip. A shallow chip to top of spout and two minor chips to edge of spout. A minor in-the-firing contact mark to maker's mark. H 14".