Lot #: 269
Price Realized: $1,955.00
($1,700 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.
Extremely Rare Six-Gallon Stoneware Presentation Churn with Profuse Cobalt Brushwork and Floral Decoration, Inscribed "Dan McKneer", attributed to Albert Black, Confluence, Somerset County, PA, circa 1872, large-sized, cylindrical churn with flared collar and ribbed lug handles, the shoulder and collar accented with incised banding. Front decorated with the large freehand name, "Dan McKneer", surrounded by exuberant cobalt stripe decoration. Reverse decorated with a leaf stem bearing three hoof-shaped blossoms in the classic Black style. The brushwork on this example is applied over a slip-coated ground. Impressed "6" within a circle at shoulder. This churn is closely-related to an iconic jar, pictured on p. 105 of Schaltenbrand's Big Ware Turners, which bears the freehand cobalt signature "A. Black / Confluence / Pa.". This jar, of a similar color and slip-coated surface, features distinctive striped brushwork surrounding the signature, which links it to the churn. The boldly-brushed signature on the jar illustrated in Schaltenbrand indicates that it was made by Albert Black in Confluence, about twelve miles from Somerfield, where he had previously operated in partnership with his brother, George. The similarities between the jar and this churn suggest that the churn was also made by Albert Black in Confluence, shortly after his arrival there in 1872. This important work survives as one of a small number of inscribed pieces known by a member of the Black family. The rarity of the freehand inscription is augmented by the vessel's appealing, large-sized churn form, likewise a rarity in this family's work. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, purchased by the consignor in Western Pennsylvania. A sealed top-to-bottom crack on far right side of churn's front, which forms a Y below decoration. The crack continues as a thin line approximately 4 1/2" onto underside. A chip to top of right handle. Light wear to opposite handle. A 1 1/4" chip to interior of rim. A small chip to molding at base of collar on reverse. H 16 1/4".
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