Exceptional Henry Remmey, Baltimore Incised Bird Stoneware Pitcher, c1812-29

July 16, 2016 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 90

July 16, 2016 Auction Catalog

Very Rare and Important One-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher with Incised Bird on Flowering Branch Decoration, attributed to Henry Remmey, Sr., Baltimore, circa 1812-1829, ovoid pitcher with drooping spout and footed base, decorated with a large incised and cobalt-highlighted design of a bird perched on a leafy branch with flower blossom. The decoration includes heavy incised feather detail to the bird and veining to the leaves characteristic of the Remmey family's finest work, and covers an unusually-large portion of the pitcher's body. This pitcher also exhibits a distinctive trait found on a small number of Remmey's best Baltimore products: a combination of incised decoration with brushed cobalt floral designs. Cobalt leaves ornament the collar and a fan-shaped floral motif, closely-related to those found on stamped "H. MYERS" merchant stoneware made by Remmey, appear to the left of the bird. This pitcher was made during an important time and place in American stoneware production. Between the years 1810 and 1830, Baltimore witnessed and influx of skilled potters who produced some of the most artistically-incised works known in all of American stoneware. This lot is one of a small number of incised bird pitchers produced by Remmey that indicate this period's superior level of craftsmanship. Provenance: A private Maryland collector; Crocker Farm, Inc., July 17, 2004. Remarkable mint condition. H 9 1/2".