Exceedingly Rare Albany-Slip-Glazed Stoneware "Cairo Hum Bug" Flask, attributed to Anna Pottery, Anna, IL, circa 1875, wheel-thrown form with applied and sculpted features including wings, head details, pinchers, and feet, the rear end with opening for drinking. Incised on wings "Cairo / hum / BUG" and along side of flask with the words, "Old Rye." Incised details to wings and head, the head featuring elaborate impressed and incised circular details and eyes. A remarkable example of ceramic folk sculpture, this work was made by French-born potter, Jacob Bachley, while working at Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick's Anna Pottery in Anna, Illinois, prior to the establishment of his Texarkana Pottery in Texarkana, Arkansas. Known as "Hum Bug Jake," Bachley likely made this humorous work in homage to his nickname. The words, "hum BUG," incised on one wing can either read as Bachley's signature or as a moniker describing his creation. The word, "Cairo," pokes fun at the Alexander County, Illinois city of Cairo, as seen on various pieces made by the Kirkpatrick brothers. A second surviving example bearing Bachley's signature leads to a firm attribution to his hand. One of a very few flasks of this type known, significant for its wonderful folk art appeal and material connection of Bachley to Anna Pottery. Provenance: From a long-term Illinois collection consigned to this auction. Chips to wings and raised piece of clay between wings. A chip to curved section of insect's head. A loss to each pincher. An in-the-firing chip to one foot. L 6 1/2".
