Exceptional Two-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Elaborate Cobalt Bird and Floral Decoration, Stamped "MARTIN CRAFTS / BOSTON", MA origin, circa 1855, cylindrical jar with tooled shoulder, applied lug handles, and semi-rounded rim, lavishly-decorated with a large bird perched on a flowering vine. The decoration is executed with a high level of artistry, including profuse striped trails to the head and breast, V-shaped trails to the wing, and sharp, pointed trails to the splayed tail. The vine on which the bird sits features thickly scrolled leaves and large, oval blossoms, each embellished with striped details and protruding stamens. Shoulder impressed with rare "MARTIN CRAFTS / BOSTON" maker's mark above a two-gallon capacity mark, both highlighted in cobalt slip. Featuring one of the most intricate bird designs from New England that we have ever seen, the jar is decorated by the same itinerant artist (possibly New York State potter, James Reilly) as a three-gallon bird-on-flowering-vine crock, marked "WM. E. WARNER / WEST-TROY," offered in this auction, as well as a number of pieces with avian designs from the J. & E. Norton factory of Bennington, VT. These include a six-gallon crock with spread-winged eagle, inscribed "USA," and a three-gallon bird-on-flowering-vine jug illustrated on the cover of Leder and Cesana's The Birds of Bennington. This artist has a flair for the dramatic and an amazing competence in manipulating the flow of the slip cup. Provenance: Crocker Farm, Inc., July 20, 2019, lot 1. Very nice condition with generally minor flaws. A base chip on side of jar and other minor base wear. Wear and shallow chipping to inner rim for lid. Two minor nicks to interior of rim. Two minor chips and tiny nick to right handle. A 3/4" piece of in-the-firing clay adhered to surface under right handle. A very faint 4" surface line to far right side of jar, not visible on interior. A minuscule in-the-firing iron ping to front. Some staining. H 12".
