Extremely Rare Two-Gallon Stoneware Jug with Incised Deer and Fort Scene, Stamped "C. HART & SON. / SHERBURNE," NY State origin, circa 1866-1885, ovoid jug with squared spout, decorated with an incised and cobalt-highlighted design of a stag leaping over a fence, beside a fort flanked by a stump, shrub, and pine tree. Cobalt highlights to maker's mark and capacity mark. This jug features extremely rare incised execution of a desirable New York State animal motif, created during a period when slip-trailing was the standard method of decorating. Other design elements, such as the fort, fence, stump, and pine tree, also have related counterparts in Northeastern slip-trailed decoration. The fine detail of the scene, which includes dashes along the deer and a large flag, windows, and smoking chimney on the fort, is noteworthy. Among the best examples of Hart family stoneware that we have ever offered. Literature: A related "C. HART & SON. / SHERBURNE" jug depicting a simpler design of only a leaping stag is illustrated on p. 125 of Donald Blake Webster's Decorated Stoneware Pottery of North America. The caption for the illustrated jug reads as follows, "What better a design for Charles Hart of Sherburne, New York, than an incised hart, that European cousin of the North American caribou. This neatly incised animal with the lines filled with blue, may have been intended as a standard design, but it is in fact one of very few examples of incised designs by this pottery, and by far the latest of any known incised designs dating after 1866. . . Collection of John Paul Remensnyder." Excellent condition with an in-the-firing iron ping to shoulder and below handle, a faint 3/4" surface line to spout on reverse, and a minor spout nick.
