Extremely Rare Open-Handled Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Fish Motif, Dated 1794, NJ or NY origin, 1794, ovoid jar with open loop handles and dramatically tooled foot and shoulder, decorated on the front with the slip-trailed date, "1794," beside a fish within wavy border. Reverse decorated with three stylized foliate devices. The significance of this jar lies in the rarity of its date and figural decoration. Made just eighteen years after American Independence, this jar is believed to be the earliest surviving example of American stoneware depicting a fish. Provenance: Christie's, American Paintings, Furniture, and Decorative Arts, October 15, 1985, lot 136; Sotheby's, Important Americana Including Stoneware Assembled by Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Hochberg, January 21, 2011, lot 181. Various, mostly surface level, lines to bottom half of jar, some partially visible on interior. A glazed-over 1" base flake. Proper left handle broken into two pieces and reglued, with small chip along break. A 3 1/4" vertical line from rim on reverse. Minor crazing to rim. A small, glazed-over dent to rim on front. H 8 7/8".
