Outstanding BELL (Winchester, VA) Eight-Gallon Stoneware Jar, c1835-40

July 21, 2018 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 102

Price Realized: $1,534.00

($1,300 hammer, plus 18% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 6 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.

July 21, 2018 Auction Catalog

◀︎ Back to Catalog

▶ Login

Outstanding Eight-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Elaborate Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped Four Times "BELL", Samuel, Solomon, or Peter Bell, Winchester, VA, circa 1835-1840, oversized, ovoid jar with narrow, flared base, tooled shoulder, squared rim, and a single extruded handle, decorated with a brushed swag and floral motif descending from the shoulder. The distinctive decoration on this jar, resembling a seed pod or fish scales, is a classic early Bell motif, which can be observed on a number of early signed Samuel and Solomon Bell products from Winchester. The second handle on the jar was lost prior to firing, and the area where it was attached was smoothed over by the potter and decorated with this design as well. The underside of the remaining handle is impressed four times in a cross-shaped pattern with the large maker's mark, "BELL". Standing 20 3/8" tall, this jar is significant in its size, being the tallest example of stoneware that we have seen produced by any member of the Bell family in Virginia or Pennsylvania. A ten-gallon jar, stamped "S. BELL & SON. / STRASBURG", and a ten-gallon jar, stamped "BELL", are illustrated on page 243, figs. 5.1333 and 5.135 of H.E. Comstock's The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region, and stand 18 1/4" and 18" respectively. Although this jar is taller than both of these examples, its graceful form and narrow base contribute to a capacity of two gallons smaller. Broken into pieces with areas of restoration to cracks and surface. The vast majority of the cobalt decoration on this jar is original. One handle lost prior to firing, with original decoration covering where the handle had been. A rim chip and additional nicks throughout rim. A base chip. Some light exfoliation visible on exterior near base, along with some exfoliation to interior near base. H 20 3/8".