Sold! $18,000.
Rare and Fine Four-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Double Pheasant Decoration, Stamped "J. & E. NORTON / BENNINGTON, VT," circa 1855, cylindrical jar with tooled shoulder, applied lug handles, and wide rounded rim, decorated with an artistically-rendered, slip-trailed design of two crossed pheasants with turned heads, perched on a stump. Cobalt highlights to maker's mark. One of the Nortons' most prized avian designs, executed in a crisp cobalt with excellent color. Interior of rim with wear and a shallow chip. Heavy wear to inner rim for lid. A shallow 2 3/4" chip to one handle. Same handle with a minor nick, a 7/8" surface crack, and a small area of wear. An 8 Y-shaped crack extending from midsection to base area on reverse. H 14 3/4".