Fine One-and-a-Half-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher with Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped "JOHN BELL / WAYNESBORO'," PA origin, circa 1850-1880, ovoid pitcher with footed base and tooled rim, decorated on each side with a large, diagonally-brushed tulip with spotted stamen, applied over slip-washed clay. Front decorated with a series of conjoined graduated swags. Additional swag decoration to sides of collar. Handle elaborately-decorated with a freehand vine design and highlights to the terminals. Impressed on collar with John Bell maker's mark above a one-and-a-half-gallon capacity mark. This fine example of a prized Bell stoneware form survives in immaculate condition, exhibits bold color, and features a desirable tulip variant with trumpet-shaped blossoms. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, found by the consignor twenty years ago in a home she purchased. One of the finest-conditioned examples of John Bell pottery that we have ever offered, this pitcher survives in excellent, essentially as-made condition with no chips, cracks, or other flaws. H 11 3/4".
