Exceedingly Rare and Important Redware Vase with Large Slip-Decorated Eagle Designs, attributed to John Betts Gregory, Clinton, Oneida County, NY, circa 1820, ovoid vase with footed base and delicate braided handles, the vase decorated on one side with a very large, yellow-slip eagle with manganese eye, the reverse decorated with a manganese-slip eagle with yellow eye. Decorated under each handle with slip-trailed yellow and manganese tobacco leaves, embellished with heavy veining. This distinctive design suggests the vase may have been made to serve as a tobacco jar. Handles and rim decorated with manganese slip spots. Surface covered in a clear lead glaze. A similarly-decorated pitcher, offered by a prominent New England antiques dealer in 2005, carried a John Betts Gregory attribution. According to William C. Ketchum, Jr.'s book, Potters and Potteries of New York State, 1650-1900, Gregory was born in Norwalk, CT in 1782, and learned the potting trade in that city from Absalom Day, later working in Huntington, Long Island. Gregory established a pottery in Clinton, Oneida County, NY sometime around 1810, only to return to his hometown of Norwalk in 1831. He is described by one historian as "seldom seen outside his house and shop, but known for his genial behavior, sense of humor, and piety" (Ketchum, p. 272). Gregory gained his proficiency in slip-decorating during his formative years as a potter in Connecticut, and his surviving plates from Clinton, with their finely slip-trailed inscriptions, reveal a strong Norwalk influence (Ketchum, p. 272). Gregory's familiarity with slip decoration is certainly evident in the vase. Norwalk is perhaps the most well-known center of redware production in New England, and the fine craftsmanship of the vase bear out the work of a well-trained and highly-skilled individual. A remarkable example in form and decoration. Possibly the finest New York State redware object to come to market in years. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example from an eighty-year private collection. Some wear to slip. An in-the-firing dry spot to yellow eagle's left wing. A small glaze flake at base. Typical, minor rim wear. H 7 1/2".
