Very Rare Rockingham Swan Hill Pottery Coffeepot, Stamped "CH. COXON / SOUTH AMBOY / N.J.," circa 1858-1860, finely-molded coffeepot or teapot with relief grapevine design and free-form branch handle with forked upper terminal, the surface covered in a streaky brown glaze with blue highlights over a cream-colored ground. Original domed lid with similar relief decoration culminating in a grape cluster finial. Underside impressed with the rare plaque-form maker's mark of Charles Coxon, a British-trained potter and mold maker active in Baltimore, MD, South Amboy, NJ, and Trenton, NJ, during several decades of the 19th century. From 1858-1860, the time period in which this pot was made, Coxon was proprietor of the Swan Hill Pottery in South Amboy. Coxon is credited with producing a number of iconic pottery molds, including a stag-and-boar hunt scene pitcher and Daniel-and-the-Lion's-Den decorative application, which were copied by the Bell family in Waynesboro, PA and Strasburg, VA. (See Goldberg, Highlights in the Development of the Rockingham and Yellow Ware Industry in the United States- A Brief Review with Representative Examples, Ceramics in America 2003, for discussion on Coxon.) Few signed examples of his work have survived. Professional restoration to chipping around edge of lid. Minor wear to underside of lid. A relatively minor, in-the-firing contact mark to finial of lid. Professional restoration to spout. Professionally restoration to rim chip. Hairlines to underside and base. A small chip to flange on top of rim, which holds lid in place. H (including lid) 12 1/2".
