Very Rare 18th Century Stoneware Jug attrib. Adam States, Sr., Manhattan, South Amboy or Greenwich

Spring 2021 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 91

Price Realized: $720.00

($600 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 3 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.

Spring 2021 Auction Catalog

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Very Rare Two-Gallon Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Jug, attributed to Adam States, Sr., South Amboy, NJ, Manhattan, NY, or Greenwich, CT, mid 18th century, highly-ovoid jug with footed base, tall spout with tooled mouth, and ribbed handle, decorated on the front with a slip-trailed cross with spot inside each quadrant. Slip-trailed highlights to handle terminals. The form, spout construction, and dark, thickly-applied slip, are all consistent with the work of Adam States, Sr., a potter active during the mid 18th century in South Amboy, Manhattan, NY, and Greenwich, CT. In the final period of his career, States established a long-standing pottery in Greenwich, CT, which was managed upon his death in the 1760s by an apprentice, Abraham Mead (Goldberg, Warwick, and Warwick, Ceramics in America 2008, p. 35). Today, Mead is recognized among scholars as one of the most skilled and well-documented American stoneware potters of the 18th century. The form and color of this jug are closely-related to those found on a highly important miniature jug, incised "S +" and attributed to States's Manhattan period, which sold as lot 66 in Crocker Farm's March 25, 2017 auction. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, purchased by the consignor decades ago. Base chips. Otherwise excellent condition with some typical in-the-firing flaws. H 13 1/2".