Stoneware Figure of a Monkey Holding a Flowerpot, probably Southern, possibly Decker (Tennessee)

July 19, 2014 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 84A

Price Realized: $373.75

($325 hammer, plus 15% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 10 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.

July 19, 2014 Auction Catalog

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Extremely Rare Cobalt-Decorated Stoneware Figure of a Monkey Holding a Flowerpot, probably Southern U.S. origin, possibly Decker Family, Chucky Valley, Tennessee, fourth quarter 19th century, hand-modeled, salt-glazed stoneware figure of a seated monkey with applied clay tail, ears, and eyes. Heavily-incised detail to tail, along with additional incised treatment to eyebrows, eyes, mouth, nose, ears, and feet. Figure grasps wheel-thrown, cylindrical flowerpot with original drain hole and raised band around midsection. Cobalt accents to incising, along with additional light cobalt brushwork to body and rim of flowerpot. Pierced vent hole in underside of monkey. This outstanding and highly unusual form is composed of distinctive clay most commonly associated with the Southern United States. In particular, the color of this figural work is most reminiscent of the products made at the Decker Pottery in Chucky Valley, Tennessee, during the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries. Members of the Decker produced a number of interesting forms along with their typical utilitarian household and garden wares. These special items include face jugs, a bust-form gatepost marker, a horn, and an inkstand with applied figure of a turtle. This monkey-with-flowerpot sculpture is consistent with the whimsical nature of much of the Deckers' best work, as well as the Southern stoneware aesthetic in general. The incised slashes forming the animal's eyebrows can be related to those found on one surviving stoneware gatepost marker in the form of a man's bust, inscribed "Made by Wm Decker July 1877". An outstanding folk art form. Provenance: Found in the Southeastern U.S., covered in paint. Large chip to one foot. Loss to one ear. Shallow chip to opposite ear. H 4 1/8".