N. CLARK & CO. / LYONS, NY Stoneware Jug w/ Elaborate Man's Head Decoration

March 24, 2018 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 93

March 24, 2018 Auction Catalog

Extremely Rare Three-Gallon Stoneware Jug with Cobalt Decoration of a Man's Bust, Stamped "N. CLARK & CO. / LYONS, NY", probably Thompson Harrington, circa 1845, ovoid jug with tooled shoulder and semi-squared spout, decorated with a slip-trailed design of a man's bust with looping hair and raised collar with necktie. Cobalt highlights to maker's mark. The design on this jug was executed by the same hand as the iconic jug with decoration of a man walking a dog, also stamped "N. CLARK & CO. / LYONS", in the collection of The Adam Weitsman Stoneware Collection at the New York State Museum. This skilled decorator was most likely Thompson Harrington, the manager of Nathan Clark's Lyons pottery from 1822 to 1852, and owner of the pottery from 1852 to 1872. Featuring crisp, dark cobalt contrasting against a light clay ground, this jug features possibly one of the earliest slip-trailed depictions of the human form on American stoneware. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, Excellent, essentially as-made condition with two short, in-the-firing lines at base, which are glazed-over, and a minor in-the-firing base chip.