Sold! $7,500.
Exceptional Two-Gallon Double-Handled Stoneware Jug with Incised Fish and Double-Bird Motifs, OH origin, second quarter 19th century, ovoid jug with squared spout and two open handles, decorated on one side with a large incised design of a fish with heavy scaling and open mouth baring teeth. Reverse with incised decoration of two birds perched on stylized drapes, each with heavy dashed feather detail, one feeding the other a worm. Appealing spotted cobalt brushwork throughout the incised drawings. Additional cobalt highlights to lower handle terminals. This vessel is unusually small for a double-handled jug, as most jugs requiring two handles measure five gallons or more. An extraordinary work, combining two-sided figural decoration with stylish potting. Provenance: Acquired by the consignor's mother in Northeastern Ohio or Northwestern Pennsylvania in the 1970s. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with two salt drips to below one handle and a minor in-the-firing ping below opposite handle. H 14 1/2".