F.W. THOMPSON / Morgantown, WV Stoneware Crock

October 31, 2009 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 199

Price Realized: $5,060.00

($4,400 hammer, plus 15% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 15 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.

Auction Highlight: October 31, 2009 Auction | West Virginia Stoneware

October 31, 2009 Auction Catalog

◀︎ Back to Catalog

▶ Login

Exceedingly Rare Two-Gallon Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Jar, Stamped "F.W. THOMPSON / Morgantown," circa 1860-1870, cylindrical jar with slightly rounded sides, sloped and tooled shoulder, and semi-squared rim, decorated with an abstract brushed cobalt leaf superscored by a cobalt stripe. Impressed on the reverse with the extremely rare maker's mark of Francis W. Thompson. Don Horvath and Richard Duez outline F.W. Thompson's life in their article in Ceramics in American 2004, "The Potters and Pottery of Morgan's Town, Virginia: The Earthenware Years, Circa 1796-1854." F.W. Thompson is listed as a potter who served as a Union Lieutenant Colonel during the Civil War. By 1880 he was serving as a justice of the peace and eventually became mayor of Morgantown. (Horvath and Duez, Ceramics in America 2004, p. 122). According to this article, there is only one other example of pottery bearing F.W. Thompson's maker's mark. Near mint condition with a small chip and two tiny nicks on interior of rim. H 11 3/4".