Exceptional Stoneware Chicken Waterer with Profuse Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped "HENRY / PHILA," attributed to Richard C. Remmey, Philadelphia, PA, circa 1870, dome-shaped form with elaborate stepped and pointed finial, extruded handles, and applied water trough with carved opening; brush-decorated with tulip, leaf, and swag motifs surrounding the opening, additional tulips below each handle, and a horizontal floral motif flanked by swags on the reverse. Cobalt highlights to handle terminals and a curving line of cobalt below each handle. Top of watering trough impressed with a cobalt-highlighted bullseye and the number, "1." Impressed below finial with the cobalt-highlighted mark, "HENRY / PHILA," for Philadelphia bird dealer, William A. Henry, flanked by foliate devices. Featuring lavish, all-over decoration in the Remmey style, this work is one of only a small group of surviving waterers bearing a stamp for this local bird dealer. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, which recently surfaced in Arkansas. An 8" crack to proper right side of waterer with additional tight lines extending off of it at base and onto reverse. A 1 3/4" flake to proper right handle. A 2 3/8" flake to proper left handle. H 8".
