Exceedingly Rare and Important Four-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Rooster Decoration, Stamped "J. YOUNG & CO. / HARRISBURG, PA," circa 1856-1858, ovoid jar with tooled shoulder, semi-rounded rim, and applied lug handles, decorated with a large brushed design of a rooster with comb, wattle, and prominent tail, flanked by wreath-like foliate designs. Cobalt highlights to maker's mark, capacity mark, and handle terminals. Featuring one of Harrisburg's rarest bird motifs and an early, short-lived maker's mark, this jar is among the most outstanding examples of Harrisburg stoneware to come to auction in recent years. The wonderful, stylized nature of the design, which includes an extravagant bough-like tail to the rooster, creates a piece with strong folk art appeal. Among the finest figural-decorated examples of John Young stoneware known. Excellent condition with 2 1/2" in-the-firing surface line from rim on reverse, not visible on interior, a minor 1" Y-shaped surface line from rim on left side of jar, not visible on interior, a small chip to interior of rim, a small in-the-firing contact mark to far right side of jar's front, and a shallow in-the-firing base chip on right side of jar. A series of short, hand-incised lines on the reverse base area, the purpose of which is unknown, were created with a potter's knife or other tool prior to firing. H 12 1/2".
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