Unique CLARK & FOX / ATHENS, NY Stoneware Jar w/ Cobalt Chickens Inscribed "JACK / JILL"

March 19, 2016 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 142

Price Realized: $805.00

($700 hammer, plus 15% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 8 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.

March 19, 2016 Auction Catalog

◀︎ Back to Catalog

▶ Login

Possibly Unique Three-Gallon Stoneware Cream Jar with Cobalt Decoration of Facing Chickens, Inscribed "CLARK & FOX / ATHENS", New York, circa 1829-1838, ovoid jar with tooled shoulder and applied lug handles, decorated with a folky brushed design of chickens with combs, raised neck feathers, and long tails, facing each other atop a stylized ground. Inscribed above in cobalt "JACK / JILL". Cobalt highlights to maker's mark, capacity mark, and handle terminals. Relatively few figural-decorated examples are known from the Athens, NY stoneware manufactory of Nathan Clark and Ethan Fox, and this jar is believed to be unique to their production. While the meaning of the decoration is unclear, it possibly depicts the pet chickens, named Jack and Jill, of a patron of the pottery or potter active there. Fine-grained surface exfoliation below decoration. Some fry to cobalt. Several small rim chips. Minor base nicks. A small chip to one handle. A tiny nick to opposite handle.