Outstanding "Cold Watter / 1850" Stoneware Cooler w/ Elaborate Incised Bird and Floral Decoration

Spring 2021 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 154

Price Realized: $1,080.00

($900 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 3 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 2021 Auction Catalog

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Rare Double-Spouted Stoneware "Cold Watter" Cooler with Incised Bird and Floral Decoration, Dated 1850, Northeastern U.S. origin, 1850, keg-form cooler with incised banding and squared bunghole on each side, decorated on one side with an incised and cobalt-highlighted design of a flying bird and stylized plant above a brushed floral motif. Reverse decorated with a second brushed floral motif above the freehand-cobalt inscription, "Cold Watter / 1850." Front and reverse fitted with a squared bunghole, each decorated with cobalt spots at the corners, simulating screwheads. A wonderfully decorated piece of rarely-seen, double-spouted form. Exfoliation to base. Other minor surface wear. A 1 1/8" chip to interior of rim and a small chip to interior of rim. A thin crack below bunghole on one side, extending across underside and 4 1/2" up opposite side of cooler. A thin 1 1/2" crack on underside, continuing 4 1/2" up base of cooler. Cracks on underside are possibly in-the-surface only. A thin 2 1/4" crack on underside, extending 7 1/4" up base of cooler to "Cold" in "Cold Watter." (Cracks in underside are in the surface only, not visible on interior.) A 9 1/2" Y-shaped crack ascending from base to left of inscription, "Cold Watter." A 2" x 1 1/4" flake to underside at edge. A few base chips, including an in-the-firing iron ping at base. Some additional small in-the-firing iron pings to cooler. A few small chips to one bunghole. Water glass staining to interior. H 16".