Outstanding Miniature Stoneware Presentation Jug with Incised Bird Decoration, Inscribed "E , J," attributed to Nicholas Van Wickle, Howell Township, Monmouth County, NJ, circa 1825, highly ovoid jug with heavily-tooled shoulder, semi-squared mouth, and ribbed handle, decorated with an incised and cobalt-highlighted design of a bird with turned head, perched on a leafy branch. Distinctive tail and wing with alternating treatment of diagonal dashes and vertical wavy lines. Heavily dashed feathering to neck and breast, and additional dashed accents to leaves of branch. Incised at shoulder in block letters with the initials, "E , J." Brushed cobalt highlights to handle terminals. One of the very finest American stoneware miniatures known, this jug is distinguished by its extraordinary incised figural decoration, size of this design, age, condition, and color. (Howell Township, the location of Nicholas Van Wickle's Monmouth County shop, is situated about ten miles west of Manasquan, and it is with that town name that this well-known pottery is commonly identified--based at least in part on the work of M. Lelyn Branin, author of The Early Makers of Handcrafted Earthenware and Stoneware in Central and Southern New Jersey. As Branin describes it on pg. 146 of his book, the pottery was situated "on the south bank of the Manasquan River, near Manasquan, ... in Howell Township, Monmouth County.") Provenance: Ex-Rick and Terry Ciccotelli Collection; The Rick & Terry Ciccotelli Collection, Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, NH, August 4, 2012, lot 524. Excellent, essentially as-made condition. H 4 1/2".
