Highly Important Civil War Era Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Decoration of a Man Carrying an American Flag, New Jersey origin, circa 1861, ovoid jar with footed base, flared collar, and arched lug handles, decorated with a large-scale, slip-trailed design of a mustached man with flowing hair and bow tie, confidently striding across the vessel's front with an American flag on pole in his hands. Buttons adorn the figure's shirt and a distinctive stripe on his pants, which are tucked into tall boots, likely identify the man as a Union soldier. Dramatic striped accents throughout give form to his body and clothing. Fern-like brushwork fills the ground at the figure's feet. A second figure emerges from behind a rock or tree stump in the background, raising his arms in surrender. Unusual added details carved into the cobalt slip in a rare sgraffito style are visible within the central figure's hair, bordering his face, accenting his mustache and bowtie, delineating his arms and fingers, and even his heeled boots. This same treatment appears throughout the plants at the base of the design. The highly expressive nature of the decoration is compounded by the scene's imposing size, covering most of the jar's front, with the large flag continuing onto the vessel's collar.Featuring one of the most striking images in all of American stoneware, The Patriot Jar illustrates in both its craftsmanship and sentiment why we, as Americans, collect "Folk Art." Made by an as-yet-unidentified, but prolific, potter in New Jersey, it showcases the artist's ability at conveying emotion and power with simple potter's materials. Evocative of the Northern Union zeitgeist of the early Civil War period, the design appears to include the inscription, "HA!" at the end of the flag, followed by the Roman numerals, "LXI," signifying the year of the jar's creation, 1861. The use of the expression "Ha!" appears in various cartoons of the time period in essentially the same usage as today, in this case an expression of mockery toward a vanquished opponent, depicted as the figure raising his arms in the background of the scene. This jar communicates a spirit of Northern optimism that the Confederacy would be swiftly crushed in the early months of the war, prior to the disconcerting Southern victory at Bull Run on July 21, 1861. A related surviving cartoon was issued in 1861 and shares striking commonalities with aspects of the Patriot Jar's design, including the use of the word "HA" in the caption, a central flag motif, and figures with raised hands in the background. Captioned "5 TO ONE HA.," the drawing portrays a scene of Southern cowardice, with five Confederates running away from only one single Northerner, in this case Uncle Sam himself. In particular, the coupling of "HA" here with the unusual raised-arm figures in the background tie this drawing to the jar, and seem to indicate that, at the very least, a cartoon similar to it helped inspire the jar's decoration. Above all, it is clear that the potter was trying to evoke the archetypal patriotic image of a flag-bearer, boldly carrying forth the nation's colors, even at his own peril--an image with particular meaning behind it, given the role of flag-bearers in what would become a long and devastating national conflict. Few stoneware pieces of this quality remain in private hands. It previously sold in the well-known Sotheby's Auction, The American Folk Art Collection of Don and Faye Walters in 1986, alongside the iconic Fulper, Flemington, NJ acrobats jug, which brought $28,600--a then-record price for American stoneware. The Patriot Jar was the second-highest stoneware lot of the sale, bringing an impressive sum of $14,300. Its incomparable, purely American image place it among the finest 19th century ceramic works celebrating this country. Exhibited/Literature: Regional Aspects of American Folk Pottery, May 12 to October 12, 1974, The Historical Society of York County, included in exhibit book. Provenance: Ex-Peter Tillou; Ex-Don and Faye Walters; Sotheby's, The American Folk Art Collection of Don and Faye Walters, October 25, 1986, lot 14; Ex-William Hlavin; Ex-Don Walters (second ownership). Very nice condition with small rim chips. H 9 3/4".
