Exceedingly Rare Three-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped "NORTONS / BENNINGTON," VT origin, circa 1810-1825, ovoid jar with tooled shoulder, tall collar, and applied lug handles, decorated with a brushed foliate motif below the highly unusual maker's mark, "NORTONS / BENNINGTON." Cobalt highlights to maker's mark and handle terminals. Arguably the rarest of all Norton family maker's marks and the first of its kind that we have ever offered. This stamp was likely employed shortly after Captain John Norton's "BENNINGTON FACTORY" mark, with the "S" either indicating a possessive or multiple members of the family involved in the enterprise. A related example resides in the collection of the Bennington Museum. A glazed-over, in-the-firing iron ping to rim. A 3" crack on underside, continuing several inches up front of jar where it forms a tight Y. Some grease residue to surface.
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