Exceptional Five-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Profuse Cobalt Fuchsia Decoration, Inscribed "Five.," attributed to James or William Leet Hamilton, Greensboro, PA, circa 1860, semi-ovoid jar with incised banding around midsection, tooled shoulder, semi-rounded rim, and ribbed lug handles. Front of jar lavishly-decorated with an undulating fuchsia vine bearing three large blossoms, the two lead flowers with large curled stamens. Inscribed "Five." in cobalt at base with unusual foliate designs to the left and right. Cobalt stripes at shoulder and below rim. Large circular cobalt highlights to handle terminals. Impressed "5" at shoulder. This striking example includes top-to-bottom brushwork in the early Greensboro style as well as the unusual inscription "Five." at base. Coupled with this bold and expressive decoration is some of the best coloration to the clay and cobalt we have seen on a piece of Western Pennsylvania stoneware. This jar ranks as one of the finest examples of "pre-stencil" stoneware from this potting city we have offered. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, purchased by the consignor over a decade ago. Very nice condition. Three shallow chips to one handle. A shallow chip to opposite handle. A faint 3 1/2" Y-shaped surface line on side of jar, not visible on interior and likely in-the-firing. A hairline on underside, which forms a Y at base on front, possibly in-the-surface only. A 3/4" glazed-over stone ping to reverse. An interesting in-the-making dent to rim, which is patched with clay and blued over prior to firing.
