A stellar selection of American stoneware with an emphasis on early incised and decorated pieces made for good fodder at Crocker Farm’s auction conducted July 11. “This was the highest attended auction that we have conducted to date,” commented Crocker Farm principal Tony Zipp.
The auction house commented that the telephone lines were busy throughout the day. with as many as nine people lined up to bid on many items. Absentee bids were also solid, with Zipp reporting that roughly 100 of the 325 lots sold to buyers that were not in the room.
“I’m psyched about the stoneware market,” proclaimed Zipp. “We had people in attendance that came up to me and said that they had never purchased a piece of stoneware before, but they were interested in starting a collection. The top end of the market continues to be strong as major folk art collectors are now starting to recognize some of the better pieces as major examples of Americana,” he said.
Zipp always throws a zinger out as the opening lot and this sale was no exception, with a rare stoneware flask attributed to the Webster family, Hartford, Conn., becoming the top lot of the auction. The flask, deeply incised and filled in with blue, was decorated on one side with a bird perched on the stem of a tulip, while the reverse was decorated with a large potted tulip. A drape design was around the mouth of the flattened flask.
Zipp commented that the piece had been discovered by a dealer at a house sale more than 30 years ago and was the only piece of stoneware that he owned. After noting the impressive price for a Cortland watercolor achieved by Crocker Farm in a previous auction, he decided to let it go.
“We believe this is one of the most important examples of early American stoneware to be offered at auction in the past few years,” stated Zipp in the catalog. Estimated at $15/25,000, nine determined telephone bidders were lined up and ready to go as the piece crossed the block. Two bidders in the room took control, however, with a Richmond, Va., dealer claiming the lot at $40,250. It was underbid by a Florida collector.
Two lots later, an exceptional Commeraws jug was offered and it, too, would be hotly competed for by both a host of telephone bidders and buyers in the room. The jug, marked with four large clamshells across the front with “Commeraws Stoneware” in between the rows, had “N York” stamped above and “Corlears Hook” stamped below. The decoration was highlighted by a bright and deep blue cobalt filled into the lettering and the clamshells.
Zipp related that the jug had come from a North Carolina barn that two dealers had cleaned out for a homeowner. He stated that mostly “lower-end antiques had come from the barn,” with little to get excited about. But just as the two were about to leave for the day, “the farmer said there was an old jug up in the eaves” and he volunteered to go up and get it for them. “After climbing up there, he found it and tossed it down to one of the guys and said, ‘Here, this is free. Thanks for helping me out,'” said Zipp.
Not knowing the value of the jug, the pair contacted Crocker Farm and were quite please when a $5/7,000 presale estimate was assigned to the lot. Even more pleasing was the intense action seen when the jug crossed the auction block with a final price of $28,750, coming from the Richmond, Va., dealer.
Other early lots of interest included an early ovoid stoneware jug marked Peter Cross, Hartford, Conn., that was decorated with a two-masted schooner under sail. Typical of a Cross jug with his name marked high up on the neck, the rare piece sold at $14,950.
A Utica stoneware jug with the rare mark “T.F. Field,” circa 1828‱830, and decorated with an incised and blue highlighted woodpecker did well. The jug, also decorated with leafy sprigs, sold at $10,063. Another of the unusual New York State stoneware pieces was a “W. Hart, Ogdensburg” plump 6-gallon churn decorated with a plump cobalt fish. The rare item was described as being “one of the more elaborate examples of this beloved New York State design known.” It sold for $4,715.
A nice open handled jar with incised floral decoration on the front and back sold for $4,025, a Commeraws stoneware with restoration brought $2,414, and a New York State stoneware bank with human head finial realized $4,600.
A small batter bowl measuring just over 5 inches tall and 6 inches wide was elaborately decorated with a pecking chicken on the backside and a bird in a tree on the front. Marked “Van Cortlandt 1884,” probably for the prominent family of the period, it was thought to have possibly been made in Poughkeepsie. Bidding on the lot was active, with it selling at the high estimate, bringing $6,613.
Bennington stoneware did well. A large 5-gallon churn decorated with a large peacock in a tree in cobalt hammered down well above estimates at $16,100, while a large 4-gallon Bennington jug with cobalt decoration of a spread-winged hawk landing on the ground near a split-rail fence sold at $9,200.
Redware also did well, with a couple of exceptional pieces bringing strong prices. Leading the way was a rare slip decorated bowl that had been consigned by a 96-year-old woman. The lady recalled that she purchased the bowl for $5 in the early 1960s after working at a church supper where it was being used by the cooking crew as they were “taking lamb meat off of the bone and throwing it into the bowl.” Indicating that she “just liked it,” the bowl had been the center of attention among local collectors for many years. It was also known by, and had been appraised long ago, by Shenandoah pottery expert Dr Eugene Comstock.
The bowl, attributed to Hagerstown, Md., maker Peter Bell, was decorated with dark manganese slip squiggles around the rim and descending circular lines on the bowl’s interior sides, as well as a simple central tulip decoration that would remain in use throughout the potting careers of various members of the Bell family. Zipp related that Comstock had advised the woman that if she ever wanted to sell it, he would be interested. Although, according to Zipp, Comstock instead arrived with a friend and advised him to buy it, which he did. The bowl sold for $18,400.
Another stellar example of redware was a jar stamped “W. Burchnell / London” (Ohio), and decorated with a copper oxide leaf that ran around the circumference. Active bidding on the lot saw it handily exceed the $800․1,200 estimate as it hammered down at $6,440.
Pennsylvania stoneware included a presentation pitcher with the circular mark of E.B. Hissong, Huntington, Penn. Profusely decorated with cobalt and the name James Hamson across the base, it sold for $11,500.
A small jar, measuring only 7 inches tall, attributed to Norval Greenland, Uniontown, Penn., and decorated with a woman in a landscape holding an umbrella went out at $5,405. Another jar by the same maker with a more primitive decoration of a female figure realized $4,140.
Sothern pottery once again performed well, with a large double-handled jug marked “Chandler Maker” leading the way. Zipp commented that the jug had been in the same family for more than 50 years and had always sat on the fireplace hearth, although it had a coat of red paint over the entire surface. The paint was removed by the woman many years ago, revealing a wonderful alkaline glaze with looping iron slip decoration around the top. Bidding on the lot was quick paced; it sold for $14,950.
A 6-gallon alkaline glazed jar incised “L M” was attributed to the Lewis Miles pottery, Edgefield, N.C., and thought to have been made by “Dave the Slave.” Minor condition problems hampered bidding, with it selling below estimates at $5,463.
An unusual painted woman face jug made in Wilkesboro, N.C., circa 1920, by “Mr. Wilson” sold for $1,380.
Prices include the 15 percent buyer’s premium charged. For information, 410-337-5090 or www.crockerfarm.com .
