Possibly Unique Lidded Stoneware Tobacco Jar with Knob Handles and Cobalt Floral Decoration, Baltimore, MD origin, circa 1860, cylindrical jar with heavily-tooled shoulder, semi-squared rim, and highly-unusual handles in the form of applied knobs, the front and reverse of the jar decorated with two large flowers extending from a leafy stem. Knob handles are delicately-formed with a rounded center molding highlighted in cobalt, as well as cobalt highlights around the base of the handles. Jar includes its original stoneware lid with incised line accents and pointed finial, the surface well-decorated with cobalt swags and circular brushwork around the base of the finial. An exciting new discovery in Maryland pottery, this jar is the first example of its style we have seen in American wheel-thrown stoneware. Its distinctive form is modeled after examples produced in Westerwald, Germany, during the 18th and 19th centuries. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, found in a New York City apartment. Very nice condition. Two minor, faint surface lines on underside, continuing a very short distance onto base, not visible on the interior and presumably in-the-firing. A small rim chip and minor rim nick. A chip to edge of finial on lid and a tiny chip to edge of lid. H (including lid) 7 1/4".
