Extremely Rare T. H. WILLSON & CO. / HARRISBURG, PA Stoneware Jar w/ Starface Decoration

October 22, 2016 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 167

Price Realized: $2,070.00

($1,800 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.

October 22, 2016 Auction Catalog

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Extremely Rare Two-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Starface Decoration, Stamped "T.H. WILLSON & CO. / HARRISBURG, PA", circa 1852-1855, ovoid jar with tooled shoulder, semi-rounded rim, and applied lug handles, decorated with a large slip-trailed design of a face surrounded by eight pointed rays. Cobalt highlights to maker's mark and capacity mark. This jar's starface design was likely executed or inspired by the work of Shem Thomas, a potter employed in Harrisburg during the 1850s and 1860s. Thomas previously operated at the well-known, Lyons, NY pottery of Thompson Harrington, where the iconic starface design originated. All stoneware bearing the mark of T.H. Willson is considered rare and very few examples are known with figural designs of any sort. This example's New-York-inspired starface motif adds both decorative appeal and historical significance to the object as it reveals a migration of style within Eastern stoneware potteries. Restoration to areas on front, sides, and reverse. Restoration involves the undecorated areas at the center of the star rays on the left side of the design, including some touch-up to cobalt on left side of design. An additional faint line in one handle, extending horizontally 2 1/2" above handle, as well as a faint line in underside. A few fairly typical, in-the-firing chips to bottom edge, primarily visible when jar is turned over. H 11 3/4".