Very Rare Multi-Glazed Redware Hunt Scene Pitcher, S. Bell & Son, Strasburg, VA

Spring 2020 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 231

Price Realized: $300.00

($250 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 4 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.

Spring 2020 Auction Catalog

◀︎ Back to Catalog

▶ Login

Extremely Rare Multi-Glazed Redware Hunt Scene Pitcher, attributed to S. Bell & Son, Strasburg, VA, circa 1890, molded pitcher with footed base and raised spout, one side decorated with a relief design of hounds overtaking a deer, the opposite side featuring hounds attacking a boar. Central tree design below spout. Collar with relief grapevine decoration. Molded handle with thumbrest and relief foliate embellishments. Body of pitcher and handle decorated with bold splashed copper and manganese glazes over a yellow ground, the entire surface covered in a clear lead glaze. This form of pitcher is pictured and discussed in H.E. Comstock's The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region. It was produced from a mold created by Charles Coxon, who worked for a period at the E. & W. Bennett Pottery of Baltimore, MD. Other, less colorful examples of this style were produced by John Bell in Waynesboro, PA and Solomon Bell in Strasburg, VA. One of a small number of multi-glazed hunt scene pitchers known, this example featuring an unusually-lavish application of copper. Literature: H.E. Comstock, The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region, pp. 244-245, fig. 5.141. A 3" x 1 1/4" crudely-filled surface flake to base. Chips to bottom edge. A Y-shaped crack to underside/base of pitcher. Flakes to interior base. A few filled areas to relief decoration. Chips to rim and spout, some of which have been crudely filled. Light wear to handle and a small in-the-firing contact mark to handle. H 8".