Extremely Rare Glazed Redware Pig Flask with Incised Railroad Map, attributed to Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick, Anna or Mound City, IL, circa 1857-1875, molded flask in the form of a pig with hole in rear, impressed eyes, incised snout and hooves, and anatomically-correct underside. Body incised with a railroad map of the Midwestern U.S., including the following landmarks: Mississippi River, St. Louis, St. ARR, ICRR, O.M.RR., Chicago, CIRR, and Mount(sic) City. The use of the town name, "Mount City", is presumably a pun, and not a misspelling of, "Mound City", as the Kirkpatricks frequently used innuendo with town names associated with the pig's genitals. Surface covered in a brilliant, clear lead glaze over an orange ground. Noteworthy alone as a piece of high-styled Midwestern redware, this pig is important as a Kirkpatrick work produced in a highly-unusual clay medium. It is the first redware example of the form produced by the brothers that we have ever offered. A study of the penmanship confirms its origin as a Kirkpatrick piece, and not the work of another pottery in the family's style. The pig's flattened face and blunt nose are reminiscent of flasks produced in Anna circa 1880. Among pieces of this related form are several flasks made for merchant, John Gaubatz, and one unique flask sold through Crocker Farm, Inc., made to be given to the Cincinnati Weekly Times by the steamship "Fleetwood". However, this flask's production in redware, the relative simplicity of the map, as well as the atypical shape of the ears, impressed eyes, and genitals, suggest it may be an earlier example, made before the Kirkpatricks were producing this form with any frequency. It is possible that it was made at the Kirkpatricks' Mound City, IL pottery, circa 1857-1859, where redware (earthenware) was commonly produced, shortly before the establishment of their long-standing Anna Pottery. Relatively few Midwestern redware objects of this quality are known. Excellent condition with minor wear to snout and tail. L 7 3/4".
