Lot #: 147
Price Realized: $2,520.00
($2,100 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.
Outstanding Oversized Redware Tub with Rope-Twist Handles, Stamped "JOHN BELL / WAYNESBORO'," PA origin, circa 1850-1880, wheel-thrown tub with raised banding, rope-twist handles, and rounded rim embellished with hand-incising gadrooning and punched punctates. Three applied feet to underside. Decorated on the entirety of the exterior and the interior of the rim with sponged manganese under a clear lead glaze. Impressed with John Bell maker's mark on shoulder. This redware tub is the largest example signed by any member of the Bell family that we have seen, a form commonly-produced in Waynesboro, PA and occasionally produced in Strasburg, VA. The handles on this example are applied at the shoulder as opposed to the rim, likely to adequately support the weight of the vessel when full. This is the first example of this form that we have seen with incised gadrooning and punctate decoration to the rim. Such details are highly reminiscent of the Bells' propensity for adding incised or stamped embellishments to their finer works (most notably their animals) after they were formed. The rim gadrooning is closely related to a treatment occasionally seen on redware cream jars produced by Samuel Bell & Sons of Strasburg, Virginia, the brother and nephews of John Bell. A particularly fine example of John Bell redware, noteworthy in its size and ornamental rim. Horizontal surface line around interior base, not visible on exterior. A 4 3/4" diagonal crack from rim. Glaze, handles, and rim survive in excellent condition, with only some minor nicks to rim. H 5 3/4" ; Diam. 13".
Click images to enlarge.
A Few of the Related Items We've Sold
JOHN BELL, Waynesboro, PA Stoneware Pitcher
Exceedingly Rare Pair of JOHN BELL (Waynesboro) Redware Spaniel Figures w/ Original Painted Surfaces
Exceptional Diminutive J. BELL (John Bell, Waynesboro, PA) Redware Jar, circa 1840
Extremely Rare I. BELL (John Bell) Tin-Glazed Redware Jar, Winchester, VA or Hagerstown, MD, c1825
Fine Snow Hill Nunnery Redware Bowl, attrib. John Bell, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, c1840
JOHN BELL, Waynesboro, PA Redware Whippet
Exceptional Pair of John Bell (Waynesboro, PA) Redware Spaniel Dog Figures
Rare JOHN BELL / WAYNESBORO Redware Flowerpot with Ring Handles
