Exceptional Large-Sized Redware Figure of a Dog with Monkey Rider, Pennsylvania origin, circa 1850-1880, hand-modeled figure of a standing dog with curled tail, carrying a basket with jug in its mouth, surmounted by the figure of a monkey in tailcoat with outstretched arms, smoking a pipe. Dog includes profuse incised details to fur, impressed collar, and incised paws. Its face features excellent detail, including incised eyebrows and muzzle, carved tongue, and eyes composed of impressed circles with pierced pupils, set within impressed ellipses. The basket includes incised ribbing and impressed oval and circular details, and the hand-modeled jug it carries is fashioned with a hollowed neck. This sculpture features an ambitiously-decorated base with pinwheel-shaped floral motifs, blossoming from stems spreading from a series of impressed leaves, the whole bordered in a series of impressed circles. The sculpture's surface is decorated with manganese accents and covered in a clear lead glaze. The dog with monkey rider is among the most desirable and elaborate forms documented in the Pennsylvania redware figural tradition. Few have been documented. This example, featuring strong detail throughout and an expressive attitude to the monkey, is among the best Pennsylvania redware animal sculptures to come to auction in recent years. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, which descended in an Adams County, PA family to the current owner. Literature: For a related example, see Hollander, American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 154. Monkey is reglued to dog with a clean break where the monkey's rear met the back of the dog, which extend to the figure's legs. There is a glued crack in each leg, and one leg includes a restored chip to knee along the crack, as well as a small unrestored chip to underside of same knee. The monkey's pipe is restored. This sculpture survives in otherwise excellent condition with virtually no visible wear. Dog's basket retains its original handles, a rarity on figures of this type. L 6 1/2" ; W 2 7/8" ; H 7 3/8".
