Extremely Rare Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Presentation Bank, Incised "Joseph Swan," Dated 1832, attributed to Henry H. Remmey, Philadelphia, PA, ovoid bank with rounded foot, tooled shoulder, and raised lip at base of finial, the body decorated completely around with brushed cobalt swags and flowers and a series of leaves. Dashed cobalt brushwork around slot. Incised on shoulder with the cobalt-highlighted name, "Joseph Swan," the presumed owner of the bank. A long inscription is incised on the underside, ending in the early date "1832," all of which is brushed over in cobalt. This extremely rare bank is possibly the earliest dated Philadelphia stoneware bank known. The very early 1832 date on the underside indicates this bank was made just five years after Henry Harrison Remmey moved from Baltimore and established his prolific Philadelphia operation. The vast majority of Philadelphia stoneware banks known were made during the 1870s and 1880s by Henry H. Remmeys son, Richard Clinton Remmey. This bank indicates that the Remmeys were making this form in Philadelphia much earlier than expected, and decorating in a similar manner to much later examples. One of the most elaborately inscribed American stoneware banks known, and certainly one of the more important recent discoveries in Remmey family stoneware. Restored finial and small restored chip to finial stem. Chips to moldings at base of finial. Some dryness to areas of bank. Interestingly, the glazed underside indicates this bank was fired upside-down. H 6 1/2".
