Exceptional Half-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher with Profuse Incised Bird, Floral, and Potted Plant Motifs, attributed to Chester Webster, Randolph County, NC, circa 1875, ovoid pitcher with footed base and heavy incised banding throughout, the spout modeled in the form of an elongated, upswept point related to those seen on Staffordshire china pitchers. Front of pitcher decorated with an intricate incised design of a crested bird with elaborate feather and eye detail, perched on a leafy branch, facing three small insects. Sides of pitcher decorated with large flower blossoms and reverse decorated with a potted plant motif. Midsection of pitcher decorated with saw-toothed incising. Collar decorated horizontally and along the spout with an inverted drape motif above a band of small, vertically-incised slashes. Handle terminals decorated with incised flourishes. Numerous impressed circles accent the various incised designs. Surface covered in a salt glaze over a mottled reddish-orange and gray-green surface. This high-styled pitcher is decorated in the incised tradition of Hartford, Connecticut, brought to North Carolina by the Websters circa 1818. Meticulously-decorated with bird, floral, geometric, and drape motifs, this work also exhibits a high level of craftmanship in its potting, evidenced in its thin-walled construction, elaborate tooling, and refined spout. The sheer number of different Webster motifs represented on this work is noteworthy. Provenance: Illustrated and discussed in Quincy and Samuel Scarborough, North Carolina Decorated Stoneware: The Webster School of Folk Potters, p. 59, fig. 61. Professionally-restored handle. Sealed crack extending from rim on reverse to area near base on reverse. A small base chip and minor base nick. H 8 1/8".
