Extremely Rare Tanware Spaniel with Profuse Freehand Albany Slip Decoration, Incised in Script "R.H. Rumble," Greensboro, PA, circa 1890, molded figure of a spaniel with incised facial features, applied to a wheel-thrown pedestal base with protruding edge. Spaniel lavishly-decorated with brushed Albany slip spots, large highlights to the ears and haunch, and a collar with bow around its neck. Base decorated in the Greensboro and New Geneva style with freehand swags on top and elaborate vining around the circumference. Underside incised in script "R.H. Rumble". Robert H. Rumble (1870-1893) was the son of John A. Rumble (1847-1940) and Anna P. Atchison (1848-1930). Listed in the Greensboro, PA, department of vital records as a potter beginning in 1889, R. H. Rumble was related to Greensboro, PA, stoneware potters through both branches of his family, among them his father, maternal grandfather, Henry K. Atchison (1820-1893), and uncle, James Atchison (1851-1900). A highly significant stoneware spaniel on base bearing the signature of James Atchison, was featured on the cover of the catalog for the exhibit, "MADE IN PENNSYLVANIA: A FOLK ART TRADITION," held at the Westmoreland County Museum of American Art in 2007. The Atchison spaniel also bears the initials "MR," possibly for a member of the Rumble family. Of interesting note is the fact that the signed Rumble and Atchison spaniels appear to be produced from the same mold. One of the finest examples on tanware to come to market in recent years, and one of a small number of Western Pennsylvania, pedestal-based spaniels known. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, recently found in Western PA. Losses to base. Traces of yellow paint to surface. H 10 1/4".
