Extremely Rare and Important Redware Bowl with Three-Color Slip Decoration, Inscribed "W", Stamped "I. BELL," Waynesboro, PA origin, circa 1840, with rounded sides and thin, semi-rounded rim, the interior heavily-decorated with slip-trailed bands of cream, brown, and sea-green slip. Interior inscribed in cream-colored slip, "W", with a flourish underneath. Exterior impressed "I. BELL". This example is one of a few in existence made for the love feast of the Welty Church in Waynesboro, indicated with slip-decorated "W" at the bowl's center. Very few signed John Bell bowls with slip-trailed decoration are in existence today, a technique, which harkens back to Bell's early Hagerstown training. The beautiful, sea-green-colored slip can also be traced to earlier Hagerstown examples, most notably pieces attributed to the Adam family of potters. Surviving in remarkable condition, this bowl is one of the finest examples of the form known by this highly-regarded Shenandoah Valley potter. Few examples of John Bell pottery of this quality can be found on the secondary market. 3" hairline from rim. Some losses to slip at center of bowl. H 2 3/4" ; Diameter 10 3/8".
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