Magnificent Four-Gallon Stoneware Water Cooler with Large Incised Game Bird, Stamped "H. MYERS," attributed to Henry Remmey, Sr., Baltimore, 1821-1829, bulbous form with high collar, open strap handles and footed base. Highly-detailed incised game bird (probably a grouse) washed in vibrant cobalt oxide fills the majority of the cooler"s front. The bird, depicted in alert, standing position grasping a leaf, is portrayed with a hooked beak, punched feathers on face, breast, and wing, and long, ruffled tailed feathers. Stylized flowers in bright, freehand cobalt, descending diagonally from the handles, flank the bird. A flowering vine sweeps horizontally over much of the cooler"s reverse. A bright cobalt band fills the collar, cobalt swags descend from the collar on the reverse and cobalt highlights the handle terminals and spigot. Stamped "H. MYERS," which stands for Henry Myers, a china merchant who owned the Baltimore Stoneware Manufactory at Pitt and Bond Sts., beginning November, 1821. Henry Remmey superintended Myers" pottery until 1829 and, given the close similarities between this cooler and stoneware signed by Remmey (both from his New York years and examples stamped "H. REMMEY / BALTIMORE"), this piece was certainly made by the master potter himself. Excellent condition. Glazed-over firing flaw on rear, several base chips on rear and one minor base chip on front. Height 15". One of the finest examples of American stoneware to surface in recent years. Literature: Luke Zipp, "Henry Remmey & Son, Late of New York: A Rediscovery of a Master Potter's Lost Years" in Ceramics in America 2004.
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