Rare Brown Bros. (Huntington, Long Island) Epigraph Crock: "Look Within"

Fall 2023 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 22

Price Realized: $2,280.00

($1,900 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: The American ceramics market frequently changes, often dramatically. 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.

Fall 2023 Auction Catalog

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Rare Two-Gallon Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Epigraph Crock, Inscribed "LOOK WITHIN," Stamped "BROWN BROTHER , / HUNTINGTON, / L.I.," NY State origin, circa 1870-1885, cylindrical crock with tooled shoulder, applied lug handles, and semi-rounded rim, featuring the slip-trailed cobalt slogan, "LOOK / WITHIN," underscored by stylized vine motifs. Cobalt accents to maker's mark and capacity mark. The Brown Brothers' epigraph crocks are regarded as the masterworks of this well-known Long Island, New York pottery establishment. Only a small group of such pieces are known, this example featuring clever word play with its slogan, "LOOK WITHIN," referring to both peering inside of the crock and looking within oneself--human introspection. In this way this vessel takes on a similar status to, say, early sgraffito dishes or other historic ceramics referencing an imagined relationship between the pot and its maker or its user, with inscriptions like, "This dish is [made] of earth and clay / And men are also [made] thereof." A 2 1/2" hairline from rim on front. A glazed-over 1 1/4" rim chip on far right side of crock's front, including a 2 3/4" hairline descending through it. A few short, surface-level in-the-firing lines to interior/exterior of rim. A 1/2" base chip. Two short surface lines to underside, measuring 2 1/4" and 1 1/4", not visible on interior. A tiny in-the-making nick to one handle. Staining to surface. H 9 1/2".