Exceedingly Rare and Important Redware Plate with Multi-Colored Slip and Profuse Sgraffito Floral and Heart Decorations, Dated 1818, attributed to Solomon Grimm, Rockland Township, Berks County, PA, with coggled edge, the interior with profuse sgraffito decoration of a heart with impressed circle border, dated 1818, surrounded by tulips, leaves, and other flowers. Striking solid green background with yellow and black slip decoration throughout, the flowers and leaves with sgraffito work revealing the orange clay below. Black border with yellow slip dashes. The dark green background, heart with dated interior, impressed circles, and overall style of the sgraffito decoration, are all characteristic of the work of Solomon Grimm, active in Rockland Township, Berks County, PA, circa 1815-1825. A small number of plates and jars attributed to Grimm rank as some of the most ambitiously-decorated examples of early American redware known. A plate with similar decorative treatments, including impressed circles, is prominently displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. A stunning example of Pennsylvania-German sgraffitoware, despite its condition issues. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example from an eighty-year private collection. 4 1/4" x 1" restored section to edge and a 4" x 7/8" restored section to edge. Some additional glaze restoration bordering these restored sections. Glaze wear to interior. Diameter 9 5/8".
