Extremely Rare Three-Gallon Stoneware Jug with Cobalt Decoration of a Man's Profile, Stamped "N. CLARK & CO. / LYONS," attributed to Thompson Harrington at the Nathan Clark & Company Pottery, Lyons, NY State origin, circa 1850, ovoid jug with tooled shoulder and tapered spout, decorated with a slip-trailed design of a man's profile with finely-executed hair, upturned collar, and bow tie. Slip-trailed with an ornamental "3" to shoulder. Light, slip-trailed highlights to maker's mark. The design on this jug was executed by the same hand as the iconic jug with decoration of a man walking a dog, also stamped "N. CLARK & CO. / LYONS", in the collection of The Adam Weitsman Stoneware Collection at the New York State Museum. This skilled decorator was most likely Thompson Harrington, the manager of Nathan Clark's Lyons pottery from 1822 to 1852, and owner of the pottery from 1852 to 1872. Featuring crisp, dark cobalt contrasting against a light clay ground, this jug is possibly one of the earliest slip-trailed depictions of the human form on American stoneware and one of a very few human designs known on a piece bearing this stamp. Harrington would go on to represent the human face in a more simplified style with his iconic "starface" design, employed after acquiring the pottery in 1852. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, acquired by the consignor decades ago. Some exfoliation to shoulder area. A hairline through lower handle terminal. A short, in-the-firing surface line below handle, which is glazed over. A narrow 1 1/8" flake to top edge of spout, which occurred in the firing. Two other minor chips to interior of spout. Two short faint lines to top edge of spout. A few small spots of staining. Some traces of old paint (unrelated to any sort of restoration) to top/interior of spout.
